The National Pollinator Plan

Jennifer Duffield White

In May, the White House released the first “National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators” report. First, let’s take a look at what it says:

The goals:

1 | Reduce honey bee colony losses during winter.
2 | Increase the population of monarch
butterflies.
3 | Restore and enhance 7 million acres of land for pollinators over the next five years.

All of this requires, obviously, money. The President’s budget for 2016 includes more than $82 million in funding that will be specifically targeted to address pollinator health through various agencies. (Compare that to $34 million in 2014.) That includes additional research funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the USDA.

The pollinator strategy is 58 pages, plus there are additional best management practices and plans. That’s a lot to cover, but here are a few of the action plans that the national strategy outlines to achieve the goals above.

• A Pollinator Research Action Plan to support more scientific research to understand and recover from pollinator losses. This includes additional studies assessing stressors that lead to species decline.
• Pollinator Best Management Practices for federal buildings and landscapes.
• Establishing best practices for pollinator habitats along roadsides.
• Increasing habitat quantity and quality at federally managed facilities.
• A National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration to create a seed bank of plants that will support restoration efforts. This includes working with the private sector to increase the availability of pollinator-friendly native species.
• Working with the private sector to improve pollinator habitat on lands not managed by the federal government.
• Public education and outreach efforts, including a campaign for National Pollinator Week, June 15-21.

The national pollinator strategy addresses the issue of pesticides, in depth, on pages 47-52. It notes that the EPA has been tasked with assessing “the effects of pesticides, including neonicotinoid insecticides, on the health of bees and other pollinators, and to take appropriate actions to protect pollinators.” This includes:

• Implementing tiered, “harmonized guidance” for assessing the risks posed by pesticides to bees.
• Developing new guidelines for chronic toxicity testing with adult bees, bee larvae and other insect pollinators.
• The EPA speeding up their re-evaluation of the neonicotinoid family of pesticides to meet a 2015-2017 schedule. The report states that companies with outdoor-use neonicotinoid registrations have been notified that new uses of those chemicals are unlikely to be approved until new bee data are submitted and pollinator risk assessments are complete. Once these are available, “EPA will be able to make stronger and more scientifically reliable regulatory decisions on their uses.”
• The EPA assessing other pesticides for potential pollinator impacts.
• The EPA proposing prohibiting foliar applications of acutely toxic products during bloom time on sites that have contracted commercial bees on site.
• Finalizing the assessment of neonicotinoid seed treatments on soybeans by fall 2015.
• Guidelines for reporting bee mortality incidents.
• An effort to protect milkweed, a crucial plant species for monarch butterflies, including protecting it from the effects of herbicides.
• Expedited review of Varroa mite control products.

The mainstream press immediately reported on the new strategy, in many cases paying more attention to the fact that the President found the bee worth his attention than the actual strategies outlined. The Washington Post led with, “The humble bee … has won over the leader of the free world.”

The horticulture industry proved eager to evaluate the content of the strategy. AmericanHort, the Society of American Florists, the American Floral Endowment and the Horticultural Research Institute issued a joint statement.

“Improved habitat and forage are properly at the heart of the national strategy,” they said, noting that horticulture has a major role to play here, providing trees, plants and flowers for pollinators. The national strategy’s overarching goals dovetail well with the focus of the ongoing Horticultural Industry Bee and Pollinator Stewardship Program.”

However, they did point out that, “the Strategy itself (not including the appendices) uses the term ‘native’ in the context of plants and vegetation more than 60 times. In many planting situations, like large-scale restorations, native plants may be the logical choice. In others, like managed landscapes or remediations, all site-appropriate, non-invasive pollinator friendly plants should be embraced.” 

RISE is a national association that represents manufacturers and other members of the pesticide and fertilizer industry in turf, ornamental and other non-food/fiber applications. RISE President Aaron Hobbs issued a statement that said, “The pollinator issue is very complex and the White House strategy presents what can be a very effective multi-agency, stakeholder and state-involved process to improve the health of pollinators in a science-based and measurable way. Our industry takes its role as environmental stewards very seriously. We are gratified to have a clear role in the strategy, creating pollinator-friendly habitats and forage areas through integrated vegetation management in utility rights-of-way and on managed lands.”

But not everyone was happy with the contents of the strategy. Groups that had been lobbying for a ban on neonicotinoids expressed disapproval.

Friends of the Earth (they published “Gardeners Beware (2014): Bee-toxic pesticides found in bee-friendly plants sold at garden centers across the U.S. and Canada”), issued a statement in conjunction with the Green America Business Network and the American Sustainable Business Council.

Friends of the Earth Food and Technology Program Director Lisa Archer said: “President Obama’s National Pollinator Health Strategy misses the mark by not adequately addressing the pesticides as a key driver of unsustainable losses of bees and other pollinators essential to our food system.”

Their joint statement listed several steps they think are necessary for protecting pollinators, including, “Cancel the registrations of all systemic, persistent pesticides, including neonicotinoids, for all uses that pose a risk to pollinators, beginning with unnecessary uses (such as seed treatments and cosmetic applications) and uses for which alternatives exist.” GT