The Pollinator Protection Research Act of 2007 will be introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in the next several weeks.
This bill not only addresses Colony Collapse Disorder in honey bees, but also the decline of native pollinators in North America. This bill will enhance funding for research on the parasites, pathogens, toxins, and other environmental factors that affect honey bees and native bees. It supports research into the biology of native bees and their role in crop pollination, diversifying the pollinators upon which agriculture relies.
The Pollinator Protection Research Act provides for:
- $25.25 million to the Agriculture Research Service over five years for research, personnel, and facility improvements regarding honey bee and native bee biology, causes/solutions for CCD, and bee toxicology, pathology, and physiology.
- $50 million to the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service over five years to fund research grants to investigate honey bee and native bee biology, immunology, ecology, genomics, bioinformatics, parasites, pathogens, sublethal effects of insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides, native bee crop pollination and habitat conservation, and effects of genetically modified crops.
- $11.25 million to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service over five years to conduct a nationwide honey bee pest and pathogen surveillance program.
- Annual reporting to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate on the status and progress of bee research projects.
The Pollinator Protection Research Act of 2007 works in conjunction with Senator Baucus
Pollinator Habitat Protection Act (introduced May 24, 2007), of which Senator Boxer is a cosponsor.
The Pollinator Habitat Protection Act addresses an important aspect of CCD and the
decline of pollinators in general: the continued loss of pollinator habitat due to development. The
Pollinator Habitat Protection Act leverages existing conservation efforts to improve the health of our
nations pollinators.
Senator Boxers Pollinator Protection Research Act differs in that it directly applies research
funding to strengthen honey bees and native bees, the foundation of crop pollination in the U.S. Honey
bees and native bees are vital for $15 billion and $3 billion in crop production each year, respectively,
yet research in these fields has received little funding and attention throughout its history. No other
industry or service that provides such vital services to this nation is as under-funded as beekeeping and
native bee management and habitat conservation.
In conjunction, these two bills take major steps to focus resources and conservation efforts on the
decline of honey bees, native bees, and other pollinators, and provide a foundation for further study
into a service we have often taken for granted.
Current cosponsors include: Casey (PA), Thune (SD), Clinton (NY), Bill Nelson (FL), Menendez (NJ), Durbin (IL), and Brown (OH)
To find contact information for your Senator go to: To find contact information for your senator go to: www.senate.gov/index.htm .
For more information about the Pollinator Protection Research Act of 2007 and for information about native pollinators, see the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
