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--></style></head><body lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><img width="164" height="51" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image012.jpg@01D39F2D.56FC8210" alt="Pollinator_notag"></span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 6, 2018</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">For Immediate Release</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Tom Van Arsdall <a href="mailto:TVA@pollinator.org">TVA@pollinator.org</a> 703.509.4746</span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Kelly Rourke <a href="mailto:KR@pollinator.org">KR@pollinator.org</a> 415.362.1137</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="width:706px;height:10px"><img width="706" height="6" src="cid:image013.png@01D39F2D.56FC8210"></span><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></b></p><br style="mso-ignore:vglayout" clear="ALL"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nonprofits, Industry, Universities Join Together in Recommendations to Keep Honey Bees Safe during Corn Planting </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The <b>Corn Dust Research Consortium (CRDC)</b> announced recommendations based on over three years of targeted research designed to keep honey bees safe during corn planting. The CDRC effort, managed by the non-profit, Pollinator Partnership (P2), engaged stakeholders from beekeeping, agriculture, manufacturing, research, and regulatory agencies to facilitate research designed to provide practical guidance to reduce bee-kills and long-term damage to honey bees as a result of “fugitive dust” produced during the planting of treated corn seed.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Honey bee exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides has been a growing concern with the ubiquity of treated corn seed planted in North America and Europe. Risk reduction is a primary concern for beekeepers that have colonies in agricultural areas. <b>Dr. Reed Johnson, the Ohio State University, Dr. Art Schaafsma, University of Guelph, and Dr. Jerry Bromenshank </b>completed three years of study into risk reduction strategies that generated best management practice suggestions for US and Canadian regulators, growers, manufacturers and beekeepers. <b> Dr. Mary Harris, Iowa State University</b> completed two years of study and contributed to the data used to develop the recommendations.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><img width="240" height="158" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D39F2E.07D35A00" align="left" hspace="12" alt="http://www.pollinator.org/nappc/Images/TaskForces/Ag/IMG_1255.jpg"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The CDRC was created by Pollinator Partnership as a vehicle to fund, oversee and advise on research projects to further our understanding of best management practices for mitigating seed treatment exposure of honey bees during corn planting. This collaboration brings together industry, academia, government, and most importantly farmers and beekeepers to address key issues through a collaborative approach that is uniquely productive.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The CRDC Recommendations can be found on the P2 web site at <a href="http://pollinator.org/CDRC">http://pollinator.org/CDRC</a>. The recommendations begin on page 132 of the 2017 FINAL Report and are listed by the groups they are intended to influence: Farmers, Beekeepers, Pesticide and Lubricant Manufacturers, Equipment Manufacturers, Seed Dealers, Provincial, State and Federal Government Agencies and Regulators, and Extension Agents, Agricultural and Commodity Organizations and Agricultural Media.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"We believe that the recommendations are significantly effective in reducing potential harm to honey bees and we are urging that they be taken very seriously by every institution involved in this collaboration,” says <b>Pollinator Partnership President and CEO Val Dolcini. </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Funding and participation through the life of this project has come from:</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-top:0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">American Beekeeping Federation</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">American Honey Producers Association</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">American Seed Trade Association </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Association of Equipment Manufacturers</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">BASF</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Bayer CropScience </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Canadian Honey Council</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Industrial Minerals Association – North America</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">National Corn Growers Association</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Pollinator Partnership</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">University of Maryland</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The United States Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Health Canada’s Pesticide Management and Regulator Agency are key members of the CRDC and have received support for policy actions and best management protocols from the research findings. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.2in"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><br clear="all" style="page-break-before:always"></span><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">###</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">ABOUT POLLINATOR PARTNERSHIP (P2)</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Established in 1997, Pollinator Partnership is the largest 501(c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to the health, protection, and conservation of all pollinating animals. Pollinator Partnership’s actions for pollinators include education, conservation, restoration, policy, and research. P2’s financial support comes through grants, gifts, memberships and donations from any interested party. Its policies are science-based, set by its board of directors, and never influenced by any donor. To make a donation in support of our mission, or for information, visit <a href="http://www.pollinator.org">www.pollinator.org</a>. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">View the press release online at – <a href="http://pollinator.org/assets/globals/CDRC-2018-Press-Release.pdf">http://pollinator.org/assets/globals/CDRC-2018-Press-Release.pdf</a> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thank you,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Kelly Rourke</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Program Coordinator</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Pollinator Partnership </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">423 Washington Street, 5th Floor</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">San Francisco, CA 94111</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">e: </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="mailto:kr@pollinator.org">kr@pollinator.org</a><span style="color:black"> </span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">w: </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="http://www.pollinator.org">www.pollinator.org</a> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">p: 415.362.1137</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/ThePollinatorPartnership"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1155cc;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="40" height="40" id="Picture_x0020_7" src="cid:image006.jpg@01D39F2C.5E0E76E0" alt="cid:image002.jpg@01D1AB75.BF85B7F0"></span></a><a href="http://twitter.com/Pollinators"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1155cc;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="40" height="40" id="Picture_x0020_8" src="cid:image007.jpg@01D39F2C.5E0E76E0" alt="cid:image003.jpg@01D1AB75.BF85B7F0"></span></a><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+PollinatorOrg/about"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1155cc;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="40" height="40" id="Picture_x0020_9" src="cid:image008.jpg@01D39F2C.5E0E76E0" alt="cid:image004.jpg@01D1AB75.BF85B7F0"></span></a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/PollinatorPartners"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1155cc;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="40" height="40" id="Picture_x0020_10" src="cid:image009.jpg@01D39F2C.5E0E76E0" alt="cid:image005.jpg@01D1AB75.BF85B7F0"></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://pollinator.org/index.html"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1155cc;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="117" height="52" id="Picture_x0020_11" src="cid:image010.jpg@01D39F2C.5E0E76E0" alt="cid:image006.jpg@01D1AB75.BF85B7F0"></span></a><a href="http://pollinator.org/million-pollinator-garden-challenge.htm"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1155cc;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="60" height="60" id="Picture_x0020_12" src="cid:image011.jpg@01D39F2C.5E0E76E0" alt="cid:image007.jpg@01D1AB75.BF85B7F0"></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></body></html>