[Pollinator] FW: FW: Farm Bill "Do No Harm" Pollinator Letter: Sign on opportunity-deadline c.o.b. July 16

Fri Jul 13 12:12:52 PDT 2018

Resending as apparently letter attachment didn’t make it first time.  Letter attached [hopefully] AND pasted below.

See forwarded email at bottom for context.  P2 is a signatory.  P2 working on separate letter to conferees on specific pollinator-related provisions.  Important for supporting voices to be heard!  More the merrier.

If your organization would like to sign on, please email Franklin Holley (fholley at keystone.org <mailto:fholley at keystone.org> ) by COB next Monday, July 16 with “Do No Harm Farm Bill Letter” in the subject line. 

Tom Van Arsdall

Letter:

July XX, 2018

The Hon. Pat Roberts

Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry

328A Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

The Hon. Michael Conaway

Chairman, U.S. House Committee on Agriculture

1301 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

The Hon. Debbie Stabenow

Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry

328A Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

The Hon. Collin Peterson

Ranking Member, U.S. House Committee on Agriculture

1301 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Senators Roberts and Stabenow and Congressmen Conaway and Peterson,

The undersigned organizations represent farmers, beekeepers, sportsmen, conservationists, and agriculture business leaders. As the process for reauthorizing the Farm Bill moves forward, we write to urge you to consider the unintended and unanticipated consequences on habitat for monarch butterflies, honey bees, and other pollinators on agricultural lands in your Farm Bill conference negotiations. Farm Bill Conservation Programs have helped make invaluable gains in the creation of habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators. Retaining these opportunities for agricultural producers to feasibly establish and maintain habitat is extremely important for the protection of monarch butterflies and pollinator species, and we suggest a “Do No Harm” approach that considers the inadvertent impacts on existing or future habitat during Farm Bill reconciliation of the Senate and House versions.  

Honey bees and other pollinators are a vital part of U.S. agriculture — supporting production of most of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables grown in the United States, with an approximate $19 billion in agricultural production annually. Monarch butterfly populations have declined by more than 80 percent over the past two decades, and a petition proposing the species for possible listing under the Endangered Species Act is currently being evaluated by the Fish and Wildlife Service for a decision in June 2019. Monarchs, and other pollinators like the honeybee, face a variety of challenges including habitat loss and poor nutrition due to lack of forage. Private lands offer a critical, scalable opportunity to sufficiently increase monarch butterfly forage as well as habitat for pollinators and other species. 

As traditional stewards of the land, farmers, ranchers and landowners are uniquely situated to establish, enhance and expand habitat for monarch butterflies, pollinators and other species on a large scale. Farm Bill cost-share programs provide these private landowners with the financial and technical assistance to do so. These conservation programs provide a reliable means of assistance for stewards of the land to create habitat for monarch butterflies, honeybees, and other pollinators. Furthermore, in the case of monarch butterflies, availability of these conservation programs could have an effect on the 2019 Endangered Species Act listing decision. 

The undersigned thank federal lawmakers for their dedication to supporting farmers and others in their efforts to improve pollinator habitat. It is for this reason that we recommend a “Do No Harm” approach that considers the implications of any change made to the conservation programs in the Farm Bill and the potential impact on the removal of key habitat acres and the loss of key forage to pollinators. The undersigned organizations urge you as leaders to continue to find ways to invest in the health of the pollinators that provide this country with much of the food we eat. 

We thank you for the opportunity to express our support for a “Do No Harm” approach to monarch, honey bee, and other pollinator habitat in upcoming Farm Bill conferencing, and we look forward to working with you and your colleagues to ensure the viability of monarch and pollinator habitat on thriving private agricultural lands. 

Sincerely,

American Beekeeping Federation

American Soybean Association

Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund

Pheasants Forever, Inc. and Quail Forever

Pollinator Partnership

Project Apis m. 

Saint Louis Zoo

Sand County Foundation

From: Franklin Holley <fholley at keystone.org <mailto:fholley at keystone.org> > 
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2018 2:25 PM
To: TVA at pollinator.org <mailto:TVA at pollinator.org> ; Julie Shapiro <jshapiro at keystone.org <mailto:jshapiro at keystone.org> >
Subject: RE: Farm Bill "Do No Harm" Pollinator Letter: Opt-in sign on opportunity

Greetings Pollinator Stakeholders, 

Please see the attached opportunity regarding an opt-in, sign-on letter urging a “Do No Harm” approach that considers the inadvertent impacts on existing or future monarch and pollinator habitat during Farm Bill conference negotiations over the coming days/weeks. This letter was drafted by members of the Monarch Collaborative <https://www.keystone.org/our-work/agriculture/monarch-collaborative/>  but does not mention the Collaborative by name, is general in nature, and allows individual members to opt-in for signature at the bottom. 

 If your organization would like to sign on, please email Franklin Holley (fholley at keystone.org <mailto:fholley at keystone.org> ) by COB next Monday, July 16 with “Do No Harm Farm Bill Letter” in the subject line. 

Franklin Holley

Senior Policy Director

Keystone Policy Center

1730 Rhode Island Ave. NW, Suite 509

Washington, DC 20036

(202) 618-6663 (office)

(865) 388-1934 (mobile)

keystone.org <http://keystone.org/> 

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