Herbicide Application
Select herbicides such as Imazipyr may be applied to control established stands of non-native plant species. Herbicides must be applied to those species according to the registered label conditions. Herbicides must be applied directly to plants (painted or sponges) and may not be sprayed or spread upon any water. Herbicide shall be tinted with a biodegradable dye to facilitate visual control of the spray. NMFS will approve any herbicides before use. Additionally, NMFS has recently completed several consultations with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for certain herbicides. These biological opinions include RPAs (Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives) that are intended to avoid and minimize adverse impacts to listed species when herbicides are applied. The protective measures identified in the RPAs must be incorporated into future labeling detailing herbicide use, or their registration for use on some crops will be cancelled by the EPA. All application instructions on the labels are requirements under the EPA, and are therefore required to be implemented under federal law when applying these herbicides.