[Pollinator] Fwd: Fw: From E&E Daily -- AGRICULTURE: Congress buzzing with ideas for polli...
Ladadams at aol.com
Ladadams at aol.com
Mon Jun 25 14:57:39 PDT 2007
Sent to us from Hilda Diaz-Soltero. Thanks, Hilda.
This E&E Daily story was sent to you by: hdiazsoltero at fs.fed.us
E&E Daily An E&E Publishing Service
AGRICULTURE: Congress buzzing with ideas for pollinator rescue
Allison Winter, E&E Daily reporter
Legislators, Bush administration officials and scientists will
gather this week to discuss the mysterious downfall of U.S.
honeybee populations and what Congress might do to address the
problem.
The hearing is part of a week of national events meant to draw
attention to the vital role of pollinators in ecosystems and
agriculture and the threats facing the animals.
Among those testifying are Reps. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and Earl
Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who have signed onto a pollinator research
bill, along with officials from the Agriculture Department and the
Fish and Wildlife Service.
The House Fisheries and Wildlife Subcommittee will also hear from
noted scientist Thomas Lovejoy, who first coined the phrase
"biological diversity" in 1980 and now heads the Heinz Center for
Science, Economics and the Environment, and May Berenbaum, the
author of a National Academies of Science report on pollinators.
The plight of bees has come to the forefront this year, as a
mysterious "colony collapse disorder" has ravaged some bee
colonies. More than 25 percent of the United States' 2.4 million
bee colonies have vanished, according to some estimates. Birds,
bats and other pollinators are also in decline.
Pollinators are responsible for the reproduction of 75 percent of
the world's flowering plants, most of which are crop species. The
report last fall from the National Academy of Sciences recommended
using farm bill programs to conserve habitat for native bees.
Hastings, who has a bachelors of science in zoology, will promote
his proposal to dedicate millions of dollars for federal research
on pollinators, according to his staff.
His bill, H.R. 1709, would authorize $50 million over five years
for USDA research grants on pollinators; $20 million for USDA
staff and facilities; and another $5.35 million for research
specifically on the colony collapse disorder. Blumenauer and 39
other House members have signed on as cosponsors. Aides for
Hastings said they expect a companion bill introduced in the
Senate this week.
A group of 29 senators have already introduced a separate bill
that focuses on pollinator habitat protection through farm bill
conservation programs. The bill, S. 1496, does not create new farm
bill programs or change their funding. Rather, it directs the USDA
offices that dole out conservation funds to help producers develop
habitat or farming practices that could benefit pollinators.
This week has the official designation of "Pollinator Week,"
thanks to a Senate resolution and the USDA. Science groups around
the country are holding local events to raise awareness about
pollinators.
Besides the hearing in Washington, USDA will host a lecture with
Pulitzer Prize winning scientist Edward O. Wilson on Wednesday,
and the U.S. Postal Service will release a set of pollinator
stamps Friday. A crop artist in Kansas is making one of those
stamps spring to life this week with a 50-foot reproduction made
from squash, soybeans and flowers.
Schedule: The hearing is set for 1 p.m. tomorrow in 1324
Longworth.
Witnesses: Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.); Rep. Earl Blumenauer
(D-Ore); Mamie Parker, FWS assistant director for fisheries and
habitat conservation; Thomas Lovejoy, president of the H. John
Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment; May
Berenbaum, professor and head of the Entomology Department at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Daniel Weaver,
president of the American Beekeeping Association; and Kevin Hack.
About E&E Daily
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Laurie Davies Adams
Executive Director
Coevolution Institute
423 Washington St. 5th
San Francisco, CA 94111
415 362 1137
LDA at coevolution.org
_http://www.coevolution.org/_ (http://www.coevolution.org/)
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_http://www.nappc.org/_ (http://www.nappc.org/)
Bee Ready for National Pollinator Week: June 24-30, 2007. Contact us
for more information at www.pollinator.org
Our future flies on the wings of pollinators.
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