[Pollinator] Urgent request to take action to help pollinators via the Farm Bill

Tue Aug 28 15:54:07 PDT 2018

*Sent on behalf of Scott Hoffman Black*

Hi all:  Please review the information below and consider having your
organization sign on to the letter asking Congress to protect pollinators
in the new Farm Bill. There have been other letters regarding the Farm Bill
and pollinators, and we are supportive of those efforts. However, we also
want to make sure that conferees understand the importance of CRP for
pollinators, as well as the negative ramifications of the ESA/pesticide
provisions in the House-passed bill for pollinator species like the rusty
patch bumble bee and Karner blue butterfly.

Please note that this letter is only for organizations to sign. If you are
an individual and want to do something, contact your senators or
congressperson and ask them to support pollinators in the Farm Bill!

Thanks so much for considering signing on.

Best,

Scott

**********************

*The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and the National Wildlife
Federation invite you to join us in asking Congress to protect pollinators
in the new Farm Bill.*

Pollinators are vital for the future of agriculture and the planet and it
is important that the Farm Bill provide real protections for these
important animals.

Please consider signing your organization on to this letter to Farm Bill
conferees asking that they:

   1. Maintain the new, common sense pollinator provisions included in the
   Senate version of the Farm Bill.
   2. Ensure that key provisions in the Conservation Reserve Program are
   maintained and improved.
   3. Reject changes passed by the House that would fundamentally undermine
   the Endangered Species Act.

While we are appreciative that both the House and Senate maintain
pollinator protections that were originally included in the last two Farm
Bills, we feel strongly that Congress needs to do more in order to maintain
and increase critical pollinator populations.

Please read our letter below and then considering signing on here
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRzhXlV3LTvDd1JhFuFN5VSR6rEmE49AwjtOHnD1nBQJzQFw/viewform>
.

(If the link doesn’t work:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRzhXlV3LTvDd1JhFuFN5VSR6rEmE49AwjtOHnD1nBQJzQFw/viewform
)

--------------------

August 28, 2018

Dear Farm Bill Conferees:

*RE: Pollinator Conservation Priorities in the 2018 Farm Bill*

On behalf of our millions of members and supporters, the undersigned
organizations and companies are writing to urge you to protect pollinators
in the next Farm Bill.

Over 85% of all flowering plant species require an animal pollinator
(usually an insect) to reproduce. About one-third of food production
depends on animal pollinators, and 75% of all fruits and vegetables
increase production when visited by a pollinator.

Pollinators have been in the news regularly since colony collapse disorder
was identified in honey bees more than a decade ago. Unfortunately,
seasonal colony losses of up to 40% are still common in North America.
Native bees, which are also vital for agricultural production, are in
decline as well.  A recent analysis by the Xerces Society and the
International Union for Conservation of Nature found that 28% of bumble
bees in Canada, the United States, and Mexico are imperiled. Additionally,
a recent global analysis by the United Nations, Intergovernmental
Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services found that
up to 40% of pollinator species may be at risk of extinction in the coming
years.

While we greatly appreciate that both the House and Senate maintain
pollinator protections that were originally included in the 2008 and 2014
Farm Bills, we feel strongly that more needs to be done in order to
maintain and increase critical pollinator populations.

Specifically, going into Farm Bill conferencing, we are requesting that you:

   - Maintain the new, common sense pollinator provisions included in the
   Senate Farm Bill:
      - Reconstitute the federal interagency pollinator health task force
      and objectives,
      - Direct the USDA Chief Scientist to coordinate research on honey
      bees and other pollinators, and
      - Encourage pollinator habitat development and protection.

   - Ensure that key provisions in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
   are maintained and improved:

   - Increase acreage, as possible, without undermining quality of program
      and farmer willingness to participate,
      - Support the expanded grazing options for habitat management passed
      in the Senate Farm Bill, and
      - Cap rental rates at no more than 100% of the soil rental rate,
      continue Signing Incentive Payments and Practice Incentive Payments for
      pollinator habitat practices, and maintain 50% cost-share percentages for
      establishing approved practices.

   - Eliminate provisions that would undermine the Endangered Species Act
   (ESA) that  allow the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve
   pesticides without consulting the federal agencies charged with protecting
   listed pollinator species.

*Maintain the pollinator provisions included in the Senate-passed version
of the Farm Bill.*

These provisions include:

   - Reconstituting the federal interagency pollinator health task force
   and objectives to formalize coordination among federal agencies working to
   support pollinators across private and public lands,
   - Directing the USDA Chief Scientist to facilitate cost-effective
   research on honey bees and other pollinators by assigning an individual at
   USDA to serve as a national honey bee and pollinator research coordinator,
   and
   - Encouragement of Pollinator Habitat Development and Protection, by
   increasing our understanding and implementation of conservation biological
   pest control practices and strategies that integrate natural predators of
   crop pests into agricultural systems for pest control.

These provisions will help both managed and wild pollinators in addition to
the farmers that depend on them for pollination of crops. Coordination by
agencies is vital if we hope to conserve pollinators and their habitats
across both private and public lands, and will allow best use of limited
resources in this effort.

*Ensure that key provisions of the Conservation Reserve Program are
maintained and improved:*

   - Increase acreage, as possible, without undermining quality of program
   and farmer willingness to participate,
   - Support the expanded grazing options for habitat management passed in
   the Senate Farm Bill, and
   - Cap rental rates at no more than 100% of the soil rental rate,
   continue Signing Incentive Payments and Practice Incentive Payments for
   pollinator habitat practices, and maintain 50% cost-share percentages for
   establishing approved practices.

It is important to continue incentive payments, 50% cost-share funding for
restoration, and robust rental rates in order to ensure the habitat value
of the program - especially to monarch butterflies, beekeepers and native
pollinators. These provisions safeguard the attractiveness of the CRP to
farmers and are necessary to fully enroll the program.

Increasing the acreage cap and providing adequate funding levels of
cost-share, rental rates, and incentives are a wise investment which
translate into critical benefits for soil, water and wildlife, including
pollinators.

*Maintain current Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections:*

Reject changes passed by the House that would fundamentally undermine the
Endangered Species Act.

Section 9111 of the House Farm Bill would allow the EPA to unilaterally
approve pesticides for use without adequately considering the harm they
pose to endangered species. This could potentially have a major impact on
pollinators. The rusty patched bumble bee was recently listed as Endangered
and there are an additional 29 butterflies currently listed as either
Endangered or Threatened.  If included in the final Farm Bill, this
provision would make these species and potentially many others increasingly
vulnerable to extinction.

The fundamental intent of the ESA is to make decisions based on science
that will stop and reverse species decline. It is also intended to protect
the ecosystems upon which these species depend. Circumventing the processes
put in place decades ago and removing the role of the two federal wildlife
Agencies charged with administering the ESA would cause permanent, and
possibly irreparable, harm. The signatories of this letter request that
this provision is not included in the Farm Bill.

Thank you for your consideration of our letter and for working to protect
pollinators and the farmers that rely on them.

Sincerely,

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

National Wildlife Federation

--------------------

*SIGN ON HERE
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRzhXlV3LTvDd1JhFuFN5VSR6rEmE49AwjtOHnD1nBQJzQFw/viewform>*

(If the link doesn’t work:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRzhXlV3LTvDd1JhFuFN5VSR6rEmE49AwjtOHnD1nBQJzQFw/viewform)

--------------------

*Contact:*

Scott Black

Executive Director, The Xerces Society

*sblack at xerces.org <sblack at xerces.org>*
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