Comment from Anonymous
Anonymous AnonymousOpposeAcademic
Summary: Dr. Jeffrey Lockwood, a faculty member at the University of Wyoming and entomologist, submits a declaration expressing concerns about the risks of insecticide application and the current grasshopper density thresholds. He argues that improved rotational grazing methods should be considered as a more effective and ecologically beneficial alternative to the current suppression program.
Please see attached declaration from Dr. Jeffrey Lockwood, faculty at University of Wyoming, As a well-known entomologist, Dr. Lockwood served as vice-Chair of the National Grasshopper Management Committee from 1997-2000. Dr. Lockwood's declaration is associated with a legal case filed in 2000 that challenged the APHIS grasshopper suppression program. Within the declaration, Dr. Lockwood asserted that the risks posed by insecticide application--particularly concerns associated with decreased food for bird--are greater than previously thought. In addition, Dr. Lockwood writes that economic justification may require much higher grasshopper densities than the standardized eight grasshoppers per square yard threshold utilized by APHIS. Dr. Lockwood also writes that there is increasing recognition that both agriculturalists and conservationists can benefit from better public land management, and he cites improved, rotational grazing methods as a "potentially powerful means of preventing rangeland grasshopper outbreaks. New grazing methods can actually enhance forage production, making habitat less conducive to grasshoppers and better for the ecosystem."