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David,

On June 20, 2014, President Obama issued a directive to federal agencies asking that they create a federal strategy to promote honey bee and other pollinators’ health and identify what actions can be taken to reverse pollinator decline. The directive specifically asks the EPA to assess the effect of pesticides, including neonicotinoids, on bee and other pollinator health and take action, as appropriate, to protect pollinators. Yet EPA has so far ignored the President’s call to action.

Tell your Representative to urge EPA Administrator McCarthy to take action now to protect pollinators!

As you know, pollinators—including honeybees, bumblebees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects—play a critical role in our agriculture systems. More than 70% of America’s food sources are pollinated by bees and the worldwide economic value of bee-pollinated crops is as high as $125 billion year. But over the past decade beekeepers have lost more than 30% of their hives annually—a huge threat to the vitality of our farms.

In response to the growing body of information on the dangers of neonicotinoid pesticides to pollinators and the broader environment, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced it plans to phase out use of neonicotinoids in all National Wildlife Refuges by 2016. FWS’s decision marks a significant move in the right direction as the first U.S. agency to restrict use of neonicotinoids.

Representatives Earl Blumenauer and John Conyers are now asking their fellow members of Congress to urge EPA to follow the lead of FWS and respond to this troubling situation swiftly and effectively. 

The President’s leadership on protecting pollinators could not come at a more critical time. Commercial beekeepers across the country continue to experience unsustainable losses, threatening their livelihoods and our food supply. Native pollinators, such as bumblebees, have also suffered alarming population declines, and two species now have petitions pending for protection under the Endangered Species Act. There are currently over 40 pollinator species Federally-listed as threatened or endangered, and most recently, the iconic monarch butterfly population has declined by 90 percent in under 20 years.

Tell your Representative to join Reps. Blumenauer and Conyers’ letter to EPA urging swift and meaningful action from the agency!

Read the letter from Congress