No to Neonicotinoids

Saving Bees and Other Pollinators on the National Wildlife Refuge System

Just when you think that all we are going to hear this summer is bad news from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), there is some good news coming out of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Following a move by refuges in the Pacific Region to ban the use of suspected bee-killing pesticides called neonicotinoids, this summer the FWS announced that they will be banning the use of these pesticides in agricultural practices on all National Wildlife Refuges nationwide by January 2016.

Neonicotinoids are a widely-used class of pesticides that scientists believe are partly responsible for the decline of bees and other pollinators nationwide. The pesticide is absorbed into the plant tissue, which means it can be present in pollen and nectar, making them toxic to pollinators. Toxic residue from neonicotinoids can persist in the soil and plants for months or even years.

Since neonicotinoids first became widely used in the mid-2000s, roughly one-third of America’s honeybee colonies have collapsed each year. Scientists have not conclusively found a direct link between neonicotinoids and the honeybee syndrome known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). However, recent research suggests that neonicotinoids may make honeybees more susceptible to other possible factors in CCD, such as parasites and pathogens. Allowing these insecticides to be used on farms and orchards will only make the situation worse, and they certainly have no place on our national wildlife refuges, which are managed for wildlife, not agriculture.

This isn’t just an issue affecting our national wildlife refuges. Pollinators like bees, bats, moths and even some birds are a key component of healthy ecosystems, and essential to our survival. But in addition to that, they’re extremely important to our economy. Much of our food depends on crops pollinated by honeybees, and 90 percent of all flowering plants require pollinators to reproduce. Pollinators contribute more than $24 billion to the United States economy, of which honeybees account for more than $15 billion. Some crops, such as almonds, are almost exclusively pollinated by honey bees. Recognizing the importance of these pollinators, in June, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum creating a federal strategy to promote the health of honeybees and other pollinators . We’ve been working to protect these vital creatures as well. In January, Defenders went to court to protect honey bees and other pollinators from the adverse effects of these types of pesticides . We’ll keep you posted on the progress of this case.

In the meantime, you can do your part as well. Are you using neonicotinoids in your backyard? Check the labels on your garden products. Here are some of the products that contain neonicotinoids:

• Imidacloprid
• Clothianidin
• Thiamethoxam
• Acetamiprid
• Dinotefuran

Home and garden products may be applied at rates up to 32 times higher than approved for on agricultural crops, which means if you aren’t careful, you could do more harm for honeybees at home.

As for the most recent actions, we commend the FWS for making this important move to protect the important role that bees and other pollinators play in the health of our nation’s national wildlife refuges and in our health and well-being. We hope they apply a similar train of through to other dangerous substances. How about a ban on all uses of lead ammunition on refuges next?

Nancy Gloman is the Vice President of Field Conservation at Defenders of Wildlife