Tell your Representative to ban bee-killing pesticides in National Wildlife Refuges!

As a leading cause of bee decline, neonics have no place in our environment, most certainly not in our refuges. The good news is that Rep. Nydia Velázquez has introduced a bill to ban neonics and make our refuges safe for bees and other pollinators. We need your help to build support for this bill!

Dear Representative,

I urge you to support the Protect Our Refuges Act of 2019 that would ban the use of toxic neonicotinoid pesticides in our National Wildlife Refuges. Please co-sponsor Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez’s (D-NY) legislation to ban the harmful neonicotinoid pesticides on all National Wildlife Refuges.

Neonicotinoid pesticides, commonly referred to as neonics, are toxic chemicals that threaten wildlife, especially pollinators and species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Neonics are used on more than 140 crops, for cosmetic use in gardens and landscapes and for termite and flea treatments. They are a leading driver of bee and other pollinator declines. Neonics are especially dangerous because they can kill bees outright, impair their abilities to forage and navigate, disrupt their learning and memory, suppress their immune systems and harm their reproduction. Moreover, they pose a risk to birds, bats, butterflies and many other essential pollinators and endangered species.

The United Nations recently announced that 1 million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction. Moreover, insect species could go extinct within a century, largely due to toxic pesticides and insecticides. While pesticide use is on the rise, a growing body of evidence suggests that pesticides are a leading factor in the rapid decline of our pollinators.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that neonics are especially harmful to bees and declared that there is an urgent need to reduce the use of these  pesticides. The Obama administration’s Fish and Wildlife Service banned the use of neonics in National Wildlife Refuges in order to protect bees and other pollinators. However, in 2018, the Trump administration reversed these bans to protect the profits of the chemical industry. Our refuges are meant to protect bees and other at-risk species, but under current deregulatory policies, they put bees in danger.

The U.S. relies heavily on our pollinators -- bees are responsible for one-in-three bites of food we eat. Bees are essential pollinators for terrestrial ecosystems, food crops, and garden, meadow and forest plants. Up to $577 billion of our annual global food production relies on the contributions of pollinators. But toxic pesticides like neonics threaten the wellbeing of pollinator populations. Our National Wildlife Refuges are meant to conserve, manage and restore the vitality of threatened and endangered species, such as bees and other pollinators. The use of neonics in refuges puts these species at risk and violates the ESA.

The Protect Our Refuges Act of 2019 will reinstitute a ban on neonics in our National Wildlife Refuges. Please co-sponsor this bill to protect our pollinators and other vulnerable wildlife species.

Sincerely,
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