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<b><u>Pollinator Protection Research Act (You can help by calling your
Senator!) <br>
</u></b> <br>
Senator Boxer will soon be introducing the <b>Pollinator Protection
Research Act. </b>This bill not only addresses Colony Collapse Disorder
in honey bees, but also the decline of native pollinators in North
America. This bill will enhance funding for research on the parasites,
pathogens, toxins, and other environmental factors that affect honey bees
and native bees. It supports research into the biology of native bees and
their role in crop pollination, diversifying the pollinators upon which
agriculture relies. <br><br>
The <b>Pollinator Protection Act</b> provides for:
<ul>
<li>$25.25 million to the Agriculture Research Service over five years
for research, personnel, and facility improvements regarding honey bee
and native bee biology, causes/solutions for CCD, and bee toxicology,
pathology, and physiology.
<li>$50 million to the Cooperative State Research, Education, and
Extension Service over five years to fund research grants to investigate
honey bee and native bee biology, immunology, ecology, genomics,
bioinformatics, parasites, pathogens, sublethal effects of insecticides,
herbicides, and fungicides, native bee crop pollination and habitat
conservation, and effects of genetically modified crops.
<li>$11.25 million to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service over
five years to conduct a nationwide honey bee pest and pathogen
surveillance program.
<li>Annual reporting to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
of the Senate on the status and progress of bee research projects.
</ul>Please contact your Senator and urge them to cosponsor the
<b>Pollinator Protection Research Act of 2007 </b>to provide for research
funding into honey bee and native bee declines, and native bees as crop
pollinators. <br><br>
Current cosponsors include: Casey (PA), Thune (SD), Clinton (NY), Bill
Nelson (FL), Menendez (NJ), Durbin (IL), and Brown (OH) <br><br>
To find contact information for your Senator go to: To find contact
information for your senator go to:
<a href="http://www.senate.gov/index.htm">www.senate.gov/index.htm</a>
. <br><br>
<b>For additional information on the Farm Bill and its conservation
programs or research into the effectiveness of native bees for crop
pollination </b>please contact Scott Hoffman Black: 503-449-3792
<a href="mailto:sblack@xerces.org">sblack@xerces.org</a> or Mace Vaughan:
503-753-6000 <a href="mailto:mace@xerces.org">mace@xerces.org</a><br>
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_______________________________________________<br>
<b>The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation<br>
</b><font size=1>Mace Vaughan<br>
Conservation Director, Entomologist/Educator <br>
4828 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR 97215-3252 USA<br>
office: 503-232-6639 fax: 503-233-6794 mobile:
503-753-6000<br>
email: mace@xerces.org <br><br>
The Xerces Society is an international nonprofit organization that
protects the <br>
diversity of life through invertebrate conservation. To join the
Society, make <br>
a contribution, or read about our work, please visit
<a href="http://www.xerces.org/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.xerces.org<br>
</a></font>_______________________________________________ </body>
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