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<b>Advocates urge conferees to include bee-protection measures in farm
bill<br><br>
</b> Amanda Peterka, E&E reporter<br><br>
Published: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 <br><br>
Conservation groups and bee advocates are urging farm bill conferees to
use the five-year bill to help strengthen federal protection over
pollinator species that have experienced precipitous declines in recent
years.<br><br>
More than 50 organizations today wrote to Senate members of the farm bill
conference committee requesting that they retain pollinator protection
language included in the House version of the bill. The provision would
establish better coordination between federal agencies in dealing with
pollinator health, create a task force on bee health, and increase
monitoring and research of pollinator populations.<br><br>
"Maintaining healthy populations of honey bees and other pollinators
is essential for the long-term success of American agriculture," the
organizations wrote to the Senate conferees, who are led by Senate
Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and ranking member Thad
Cochran (R-Miss.).<br><br>
Pollinators contribute between $20 billion and $30 billion a year to the
nation's agricultural production by pollinating fruits and specialty
crops like almonds, according to the advocates.<br><br>
But in recent years, pollinator populations have fallen dramatically.
Managed honeybee colonies nationwide, for example, lost 31.1 percent of
their populations last winter, according to an Agriculture
Department-funded annual survey conducted by the Bee Informed Partnership
and the Apiary Inspectors of America.<br><br>
In the case of honeybees, scientists call the syndrome "colony
collapse disorder" and blame it on a variety of factors, including
pesticides and habitat loss.<br><br>
Under the House farm bill provision, federal agencies like the
Agriculture Department and U.S. EPA would be required to increase their
interagency cooperation and provide guidance on pollinator health issues.
USDA would establish a task force focused solely on bee health and
commercial beekeeping.<br><br>
The provision also calls for increased monitoring and reporting of the
losses of a variety of managed and native pollinators, including bees,
birds and bats. It also would require USDA to assess whether it should
modernize a bee research lab and create a new one.<br><br>
Reps. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) offered the
provision in the form of an amendment during the House farm bill debate.
It passed this summer in a 273-149 vote. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)
offered a nearly identical amendment during the Senate farm bill floor
debate, but it never received a vote.<br><br>
The provision "would be a significant step towards ensuring the
long-term viability of populations of honeybees," the conservation
advocates said today.<br><br>
The American Bird Conservancy, American Farmland Trust, Center for
Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, National Farmers Union,
National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council,
Pesticide Action Network North America, Sierra Club and Xerces Society
were among the groups signing the letter.<br><br>
Farm bill conferees will hold a public meeting next Wednesday in the
first step toward reconciling
<a href="http://www.eenews.net/bills/113/House/110713120419.pdf"><b>H.R.
2642</a></b>and
<a href="http://www.eenews.net/bills/113/Senate/160513133954.pdf"><b>S.
954</a></b>, the House and Senate versions of the bill
(<a href="http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2013/10/23/stories/1059989291">
<b><i>Greenwire</a></i></b>, Oct. 23<br><br>
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