pesticides

Senior Counsel

Peter has been an environmental, land use, and consumer attorney and advocate since 1983. He has held various roles in Washington, DC including Of Counsel at the Center for Food Safety; Vice President for U.S. Government Policy at Conservation International; Director of International Conservation at Defenders of Wildlife; and Staff Attorney at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Additionally, he worked as a contracted consultant on endangered species recovery efforts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Turner Endangered Species Fund in New Mexico. Prior to that, he served as an Attorney and Policy Analyst for the U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, and was also in private law practice. His career has centered on bringing the best science to bear in environmental protection efforts; he has specialized in working with scientists so their findings can inform good policy, as well as in federal litigation. Most of his work has been in aid of wildlife conservation in the fields of pesticides, genetically modified organisms, invasive species, wildlife disease prevention, international trade, land use conflicts, and other areas. Peter received his law degree from the University of Puget Sound (now Seattle University) School of Law and also has a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, with a focus on conservation biology.

BLOG: EPA Continues to Approve Bee-Killing Insecticides

by Peter Jenkins | January 8, 2020
With over 40 percent of insect life threatened with extinction, the EPA continues to issue emergency exemptions to toxic pollinator-killing insecticides ...

PEER Hosts Congressional Briefing on Toxic Pesticides

by PEER | October 14, 2019
Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Nydia Velázquez join agricultural and health experts and environmental advocates for congressional briefing on toxic pesticides ...

Wildlife Refuges to Allow GM Crops and Neonic Insecticides

by PEER | August 6, 2018
Reversal of National Ban Threatens Pollinators and Other Wildlife in Their Refuges ...

EPA’s New Scientific Transparency Exempts Pesticides

by PEER | May 7, 2018
Industry Pesticide Registration Data Hidden from Public and Outside Pruitt Plan ...

Refuges to Ban Genetically Engineered Crops and Neonics

by PEER | July 31, 2014
Phase-Out May End Decade-Long Legal Battle Over Agriculture On Refuges ...