Comment from New Mexico Wild

Dear APHIS, New Mexico Wild is pleased to transmit the following public comments urging APHIS to adopt Alternative 2 — ending chemical insecticide use altogether — in its court-ordered rewrite of the Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Suppression Program. This document compiles 968 individual comments collected throughout the public comment period, from June 28, 2026 through the close of the comment period on July 20, 2026. Each year, APHIS aerially sprays chemical insecticides across hundreds of thousands of acres of western public lands to suppress grasshopper and Mormon cricket populations — often with little to no public notice. A federal court ruled in 2024 that the agency unlawfully failed to consider alternatives, and the current PEIS process represents a critical opportunity to chart a better course. The insecticides used in this program, including carbaryl, diflubenzuron, chlorantraniliprole, and malathion, pose serious risks to pollinators, native wildlife, aquatic species, water quality, and human health. New Mexico Wild and the individuals represented in this submission urge APHIS to adopt Alternative 2, ending chemical insecticide use altogether, or at minimum to incorporate strong protections for designated public lands, waterways, Tribal lands, and communities into any alternative that retains chemical pesticides. The commenters also call on APHIS to require that overgrazing and degraded rangeland conditions be addressed before any spray requests are approved, to provide meaningful advance public notification of all treatment proposals, and to engage in timely, genuine consultation with Tribes and Pueblos whose ancestral lands and lifeways are at stake. Each letter that follows reflects the individual voice of a concerned community member. We ask that each comment be entered into the official record. Respectfully submitted, New Mexico Wild