HCP Advocacy Toolkit

There are many ways to advocate for yourself, your family, and your community to minimize your risk of pesticide exposures.  The national organization, Beyond Pesticides, is a world leader in pesticide reduction advocacy and provides an extensive online database of excellent resources to help you formulate an advocacy plan, either for your home landscape, school district or municipality.  You can find many great resources on their Beyond Pesticides, The Safer Choice Resource Page at:

The Safer Choice — Beyond Pesticides

*Blurb I sent you via email with the Washington Toxics Coalition PDF link should go here.

Understanding local pesticide laws can be daunting.  The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Wisconsin (imbed link in bold text) provides in-depth resources on pesticide and fertilizer ingredients, application guidelines, applicator licensing and permits, pesticide fact sheets, and more.  For specific information on pesticide and fertilizer state application laws, please go to:

DATCP Home How to Comply Manuals for Commercial Pesticide Use (wi.gov)

Then DATCP also provides the Wisconsin Pesticide Registry.  This free service allows Wisconsin residents to be notified at least 12 hours before commercial pesticide applications are applied to neighboring landscapes, providing you advanced notice to close windows, keep your children and pets inside to avoid direct exposure via drift, and do whatever else you need to minimize your exposure risk.  Annual sign-up is from November 1 – February 1, and can be done online or via regular mail at:

Landscape Pesticide Registry

DATCP Home Landscape Pesticide Registry (wi.gov)

If you witness what you believe to be a pesticide application violation, or an applicator on your registry list fails to notify you according to registry guidelines, you may file a formal complaint by contacting a DATCP pesticide enforcement officer.  To best substantiate your claim, document the incident with video and photos of the application violation in progress or as soon as you can, get the applicator’s company name and number, and note the exact date and time of the application. If there are any other witnesses, ask if you can provide their names and contact information to DATCP as well. Oftentimes, an enforcement officer will need to visit the site and take samples to gather evidence of the violation.  Time is often of the essence due to potential rain events that will diminish evidence. Some common examples of pesticide applicator violations include but are not limited to an applicator over-spraying/applying either liquid or granular pesticides onto sidewalks, walkways or the curb/road, applying in close proximity to others on public spaces such as public parks or playgrounds, or failing to properly post warning signs that clearly notify passersby that an application has recently been made.

​Pesticide Complaints.

DATCP Home Pesticide Complaints (wi.gov)

Midwest Grows Green

www.midwestgrowsgreen.org

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Toolkit Downloads!

Beyond Pesticides The Safer Choice

Green Team of Wisconsin www.greenteamwi.com

HCP Neighbor Letter

HCP Municipality or School District Letter

Pesticides on Playing Fields

Wisconsin Breast Cancer Coalition Statement on Pesticides