Tell your Senator: Stop Trump from reversing a ban on bee-killing pesticides in wildlife refuges!

The Fish and Wildlife Service's 2014 decision to phase out the use of bee-killing neonic pesticides was a critical step in helping protect bees and other pollinators that are essential to our food system. Now, it is trying to undo that phase-out.

The Fish and Wildlife Service should be strengthening our regulations, not weakening them to make it easier for wildlife to be exposed to toxic pesticides. We need your help to push Congress to hold the Fish and Wildlife Service accountable!

Dear Senator,

In August, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it was rolling back a 2014 decision to phase out use of neonicotinoid pesticides on refuge land. This phase-out was a critical step in helping protect bees and other pollinators that are essential to our food system. It is estimated that in 2014 alone, farmers and ranchers operating in wildlife refuges sprayed over half a million pounds of highly toxic pesticides like bee-killing neonics. I’m deeply alarmed by this decision and urge you to provide oversight to reverse this decision and reinstate the phase-out of neonics.

Research confirms that neonicotinoid pesticides are contributing to the decline of bees and other critical pollinators. Neonicotinoids kill and harm bees, other pollinators, like butterflies and birds, aquatic species, and beneficial organisms essential to functional ecosystems and food production, including soil microbes, earthworms, and reptiles. The science is clear that we must restrict the use of these pesticides to prevent any further environmental destruction and preserve the habitats that are essential to our environment.

Aside from their impact on critical species and our environment, neonicotinoids may also be having serious impacts on human health. Occupational exposure in humans is reported to be associated with severe heart defects in babies; other consequences of occupational human exposure include tremors and short-term memory loss. Recent studies in Canada suggest that they may act as estrogen disruptors in women. In animal models, neonicotinoids have been shown to act as neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors and are associated with decreased fertility.

The European Union recently voted to ban all outdoor uses of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides. Canada just announced it is phasing out all outdoor uses of neonics by 2021. In June, Costco announced it is updating its pollinator policy to encourage its suppliers to not use neonicotinoids on fruits, vegetables and garden plants globally. That same month, Kroger, the nation’s largest supermarket chain, committed to eliminate neonics on its garden plants by 2020. These companies join over 200 entities in the U.S., including the states of Maryland and Connecticut, businesses, cities, and universities that have taken steps to restrict the use of neonicotinoids.

These actions are critical because bees and other pollinators are in serious decline. Beekeepers lost an average of 40 percent of their bees this past year and the U.N. estimates that 40 percent of invertebrate pollinator species are on the brink of extinction.

When the Fish and Wildlife Service originally announced its 2014 ban on neonicotinoids, the chief of the refuge system wrote, “Neonic-treated seeds can affect ‘non-target’ species and would therefore be phased out of use in wildlife refuges.” The mission of this agency is to protect and conserve wildlife, plants and their habitat for the continuing benefit of the American people. The agency should be strengthening our regulations, not weakening them to make it easier for wildlife to be exposed to toxic pesticides.

As your constituent, I urge you to hold the Fish and Wildlife Service accountable to uphold its mission and reverse this decision.

Sincerely,

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