[Pollinator] During National Pollinator Week, Merkley Unveils New Proposal to Help Restore Pollinator Populations Across the U.S.

[Scott Black]

[image: merkley_header2.jpg]

FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE                                                            Contact:
Martina McLennan/Ray Zaccaro

June 23, 2016

                                                           (202)
224-3753



*During National Pollinator Week, Merkley Unveils New Proposal to Help
Restore Pollinator Populations Across the U.S.*



WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, during National Pollinator Week, Oregon’s Senator
Jeff Merkley unveiled a new proposal to help restore pollinator populations
across America.



The Pollinator Recovery Act of 2016 was released today as a discussion
draft and will be formally introduced later this Congress. The discussion
draft will provide the public and stakeholders with the opportunity to
engage in the legislative process and comment on key policy provisions in
the bill. This draft bill will also serve as the basis for continued debate
in Congress about impactful, long-term policy solutions that protect
vulnerable pollinator species across America.



“So much of the food we take for granted every day arrives on our plate
thanks to a pollinator,” said Merkley. “It’s easy to forget about the
critical role pollinators play in our food systems. But if we’re not
careful, we will only realize their importance when it’s too late and our
agricultural industry has been decimated by their disappearance. Let’s take
action now instead.”



>From honey bees and migratory monarch butterflies to birds and bats,
America’s pollinator species are experiencing increasing rates of annual
colony loss and general population declines across the country. This is
especially troubling since pollinators are responsible for one out of every
three bites of food we eat. Additionally, farmers rely on commercial honey
bees and over 4,000 species of wild, native pollinating insects to produce
a variety of crops.



Through this bill, agencies within the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) would be able to more effectively coordinate interagency and
interdepartmental efforts to restore and enhance pollinator habitat.



Specifically, key provisions of the bill include:

·         A requirement that USDA and partner federal agencies coordinate
efforts to expand the acreage of beneficial forage and habitat for
pollinators by a total of 3 million acres;

·         Statutory flexibility for USDA to adopt planting strategies that
are regionally appropriate and offer high quality forage specific to
managed and/or wild, native pollinator species;

·         Competitive grant funding opportunities for the development and
implementation of innovative best management practices for the specialty
crop sector;

·         Financial incentives and technical assistance for agricultural
producers that adopt pollinator-friendly pest and vegetation management
practices, including a new Conservation Biological Control practice;

·         Modernized authorizing language for intramural and extramural
pollinator research and grant funding programs focusing on the greatest
threats to managed honey bees and wild pollinators; and

·         Establishment of an intramural native pollinator surveillance
program and an extramural grant funding program for pollinator health
monitoring and population tracking.



To see the full text of today’s discussion draft, click here
<https://www.merkley.senate.gov/download/pollinator-bill>.



###



--

*Martina McLennan*

Deputy Communications Director

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley

(202) 224-3753





*Scott Hoffman Black*

Executive Director

     The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Chair

     IUCN Butterfly Specialist Group



*[image: cid:image001.jpg at 01D19488.98F68190]*



*Protecting the Life that Sustains Us*



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628 NE Broadway, Ste 200, Portland, OR 97232-1324, USA

Tel: (503) 232-6639; Cell: (503) 449-3792

sblack at xerces.org
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