[Pollinator] North Dakota develops honeybee protection plan

[Scott Black]

North Dakota develops honeybee protection plan

By BLAKE NICHOLSON, Associated Press

Updated 8:52 am, Friday, December 20, 2013 

*	FILE - In a March 30, 2012 file photo, honeybees fill a hive at
Golden Angels Apiary in Singers Glen, Va. The state of North Dakota, which
has long led the nation in the production of honey, has developed a plan to
help farmers, ranchers, landowners and beekeepers work together to better
protect honeybees. The goal is to reduce risks to honeybees while minimizing
the impact of doing so on agricultural production. Photo: Michael Reilly, AP
/ Daily News-Record

FILE - In a March 30, 2012 file photo, honeybees fill a hive at Golden
Angels Apiary in Singers Glen, Va. The state of North Dakota, which has long
led the nation in the production of honey, has developed a plan to help
farmers, ranchers, landowners and beekeepers work together to better protect
honeybees. The goal is to reduce risks to honeybees while minimizing the
impact of doing so on agricultural production. (Michael Reilly, AP / Daily
News-Record) 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota, which has long led the nation in honey
production, has developed guidelines for farmers, ranchers, landowners and
beekeepers to better protect honeybees and help reverse the effects of a
mysterious disorder that has vastly eroded the insects' population in recent
years.

The goal of the
<http://www.timesunion.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news
&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22North+Dakota+Pollinator+Plan%22> North
Dakota Pollinator Plan is to reduce the risk to honeybees from the use of
pesticides and other farming practices while minimizing the impact of doing
so on agricultural production, Agriculture Commissioner
<http://www.timesunion.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news
&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Doug+Goehring%22> Doug Goehring said.

"It is completely non-regulatory," Goehring said. "It contains
best-management practices and other proactive measures and ideas to help
agricultural producers and beekeepers find common ground, all on a voluntary
basis."

North Dakota beekeepers last year produced about 34 million pounds of honey
from about half a million colonies. The value of the honey crop was
estimated at $64.6 million. Honeybees pollinate more than 90 crops in the
U.S. and produce 147 million pounds of honey nationally each year.

Protecting their health has become a prominent issue because of colony
collapse disorder, which has caused as much as one-third of the nation's
bees to disappear each winter since 2006. A federal report blames a
combination of factors including a parasitic mite, multiple viruses,
bacteria, poor nutrition, genetics, habitat loss and pesticides.

Beekeepers face other challenges, according to Minot beekeeper
<http://www.timesunion.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news
&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Will+Nissen%22> Will Nissen. There are fewer
crops around that bees favor; canola and sunflower production has dropped
due to recent wet years and there are fewer alfalfa hay crops because of a
shrinking cattle herd, he said.

"Forage for the bees is the biggest problem in our state," Nissen said.
Between that and colony collapse disorder, he said, he feels his livelihood
is threatened "and it gets a little worse every year."

The eight-page plan - based on information gathered at meetings of
beekeepers, growers, pesticide applicators, crop consultants and others this
year - has numerous suggestions aimed at increasing cooperation among
beekeepers, landowners and pesticide applicators. For example, it suggests
beekeepers work more closely with landowners on hive placements to ensure
they are in prime spots for honey production while not disrupting crops or
rural roads. The plan encourages farmers to seed plants that bees like, and
to help ensure that applications of any pesticides do not harm hives.
Commercial chemical applicators are coaxed to make bee safety a priority.

The guidelines will be revisited annually and updated as needed, Goehring
said.

Nissen said beekeepers appreciate the state
<http://www.timesunion.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news
&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Agriculture+Department%22> Agriculture
Department "stepping up to bat for us" and that beekeepers and landowners
will need to work together.

"Communication is the key to making the Pollinator Plan work," he said.

North Dakota is the first state to heed the call of the
<http://www.timesunion.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news
&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22National+Association%22> National
Association of State Departments of Agriculture to develop a formal plan
and, if successful, it could provide a model for other states, Nissen said.

Oregon has taken several steps, including restrictions on pesticide use,
more public outreach, and an increased emphasis on bee protections as part
of the licensing process for pesticide applicators, according to
<http://www.timesunion.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news
&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Bruce+Pokarney%22> Bruce Pokarney, spokesman
for that state's Agriculture Department.

Oregon last summer had some bee kills linked to pesticide use, including the
deaths of 50,000 bees in one case.

"These incidents that we had this past summer certainly raised the profile
of the issue," Pokarney said.

 

 

_______

 

Scott Hoffman Black

Executive Director

     The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Chair

     IUCN Butterfly Specialist Group

 

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