Regina, we've heard that one suspect cause of the rather sudden disappearance of the honeybee is the proliferation of cell phones. I guess others are blaming "global warming". Are you following the scientific discussion on this?
<br><br>I guess the hope of this bill is to diversify beyond the honeybee, and use other (native) species to do the job of crop pollination?<br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 5/26/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Regina M. Kreger
</b> <<a href="mailto:regina@kreger.net">regina@kreger.net</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
I don't know how many of you are aware of the serious crisis (crises,
really, plural) that has hit the honeybee population in recent years,
or how it affects agriculture worldwide, the worldwide food supply.
.... This is very important, whether you're interested in agriculture
or ecology. Please help me to encourage our MD senators to co-sponsor
this bill. It is good stuff. Contact me if you want more information.<br>
<br>
Regina Kreger<br>
5903 Cleveland Ave, Riverdale Park<br>
<br>
-------- Original Message --------
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<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">Subject: </th>
<td>[NAFEX] CONGRESSES FIRST REACTION TO THE MISSING BEES</td>
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<tr>
<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">Date: </th>
<td>Sat, 26 May 2007 11:34:02 -0500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">From: </th>
<td>MARIE ASHTON <a href="mailto:bwoodtx@verizon.net" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"><bwoodtx@verizon.net></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">Reply-To: </th>
<td>North American Fruit Explorers <a href="mailto:nafex@lists.ibiblio.org" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"><nafex@lists.ibiblio.org></a></td>
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<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">To: </th>
<td>North American Fruit Explorers <a href="mailto:nafex@lists.ibiblio.org" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"><nafex@lists.ibiblio.org></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Below is a press release from the
Xerces Society about a bill introduced in the Senate called: Pollinator
Habitat Protection Act of 2007:</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">For Immediate Release:</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Date May 24, 2007</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Contacts: Scott
Hoffman Black, Executive Director Xerces Society:</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">503-449-3792 <a href="mailto:sblack@xerces.org" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">sblack@xerces.org</a> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Brandon Willis, Aide
to Senator Baucus: (202-224-6350)</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="mailto:Brandon_Willis@baucus.senate.gov" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">Brandon_Willis@baucus.senate.gov</a>
</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Pollinator Habitat
Protection Act of 2007 Introduced into the Senate</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Senator Max Baucus
(D-MT) and Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) along with 28 other
co-sponsors introduced the Pollinator Protection Act of 2007 into the
Senate today. This bill allows existing conservation programs to
provide enhanced habitat for pollinators.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The European honey be
is – and will continue to be – the most important single crop
pollinator in the United States.
However, with the decline in the number of managed honey bee colonies
form diseases, parasitic mites, and Africanized bees – as well as from
Colony Collapse Disorder – it is important to increase the use of
native bees in our agricultural system as well. Providing habitat for
these pollinators is vital to this effort.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The Pollinator
Protection Act of 2007 is aimed at improving habitat and food sources
for pollinators. This bill utilizes existing Farm Bill conservation
programs to strengthen both native and managed pollinator habitat. It
does not cost additional money, or create a new program. It simply
requires existing conservation programs to acknowledge pollinator
habitat as a conservation resource and rewards producers whose
conservation practices are beneficial for pollinators.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">"This bill can help
to improve crop security and the sustainability of agriculture, by
helping farmers in the Untied States diversity their pollinator
portfolio" said Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Xerces
Society for Invertebrate Conservation. "The Pollinator Protection Act
of 2007 will provide incentives to encourage farmers to improve habitat
for both native and managed pollinators."</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Hundreds of species
of native bees are available for crop pollination. Research from across
the country demonstrates that a wide range of native bees help with
crop pollination, in some cases providing all the pollination required.
These free, unmanaged bees provide a valuable service, estimated
recently by scientists from the Xerces Society and Cornell
University to be worth $3
billion annually in the U.S.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">"Almost all or our
pollination eggs are in the honey bee basket" says Mace Vaughan,
conservation director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate
Conservation. "The Pollinator Protection Act of 2007 will put habitat
on the ground for bumble bees, sweat bees, mason bees, squash bees,
sunflower bees, miner bees and also support honey bees. This bill
strengthens and adds pollinator baskets for agriculture."</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Pollinator Protection
Act of 2007</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Conserving America's
pollinators will require economic incentives for private landowners. On
October 18, 2006,
the National Academy of Sciences released the report Status of
Pollinators in North America, which called
attention to the decline of pollinators. Prepared by a National
Research Council (NRC) committee, the report made several
recommendations including urging the federal government to fund
pollinator conservation through Farm Bill conservation and research
programs.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The bill would create
incentives fro farmers to protect, restore and enhance pollinator
habitat on and around farms. Pollinator Protection Act of 2007 would
encourage state-level Natural Resources Conservation Service Agency
(FSA) offices to promote scientifically tested and approved
pollinator-friendly practices for farmers participating in Farm Bill
conservation programs.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Fully integrating
native pollinators into Farm Bill programs can have a wide impact. For
example, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) allocated
over $1 billion in financial and technical assistance to farmers in
2006, and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) retired over 36
million acres of farmland, 4.5 million of which was specifically for
wildlife habitat that could be tailored to provide the greatest benefit
for pollinators.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Importance of
Protecting Pollinators</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Pollinators are
essential to our environment. The ecological service they provide is
important for the reproduction of nearly 75 percent of the world's
flowering plants. This includes more than two-thirds of the world's
crop species, and one in three mouthfuls of the food that we eat. The United
States alone grows more than one
hundred crops that either require or benefit from pollinators.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Beyond agriculture,
native pollinators are keystone species in most terrestrial ecosystems.
Fruits and seeds derived from insect pollination are a major part of
the diet of approximately 25 percent of birds, and of mammals ranging
from deer mice to grizzly bears.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Why are native bees
so helpful? Collectively, native bees are more versatile than honey
bees. Some species, such as mason bees, are active when conditions are
too cold or wet for honey bees. Many species also are simply more
efficient at moving pollen between flowers. Bumble bees and several
other native species can buzz pollinate flowers – vibrating – the
flower to release pollen from deep inside the pollen-bearing anthers –
which honey bees cannot do. Crops such as tomatoes, cranberries and
blueberries produce larger, more abundant fruit when buzz pollinated.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The Xerces Society
for Invertebrate Conservation</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The Xerces Society
for Invertebrate Conservation is an international non-profit
organization that protects the diversity of life through the
conservation of invertebrates. The Society advocates for invertebrates
and their habitats by working with scientists, land manager, educators,
and citizens on conservation and education projects. It core programs
focus on endangered species, native pollinators and watershed health.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">For more information
on pollinator conservation go to: <a href="http://www.xerces.org/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">www.xerces.org</a></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Pollinator Habitat
Protection Act of 2007 Cosponsors</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Sponsor: Bacus, Max –
(D-MT)</p>
<ol style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Chambliss, Saxby
(R-GA)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Grassley, Chuck –
(R-IA)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Landrieu, Mary L.
– (D-LA)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Nelson, Bill –
(D-FL)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Isakson, Johnny –
(R-GA)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Craig, Larry E. –
(R-ID)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Casey, Robert P.,
Jr. – (D-PA)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Dorgan, Byron L. –
(D-ND)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Feinstein, Dianne
– (D-CA)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Clinton, Hillary
Rodham – (D-NY)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Brown, Sherrod –
(D –OH)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Harkin, Tom –
(D-IA)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Kerry, John F. –
(D-MA)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Allard, Wayne –
(R-CO)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Collins, Susan M.
– (R-ME)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Byrd, Robert C. –
(D-WV)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Thune, John –
(R-SD)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Boxer, Barbara –
(D-CA)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Tester, Jon –
(D-WI)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Feingold, Russell
D. – (D-WI</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Sanders, Bernard –
(I – VT)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Snowe, Olympia
J. – (R-ME)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Cochran, Thad –
(R-MS)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Nelson, E.
Benjamin – (D-NE)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Roberts, Pat –
(R-KS)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Salazar, Ken –
(D-CO)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Crapo, Mike –
(R-ID)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Stabenow, Debbie –
(D-MI)</li>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Conrad,
Kent – (D-ND)</li>
</ol>
<div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1.5pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in;">
<p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; padding: 0in;"> </p>
</div>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">The Xerces
Society for Invertebrate Conservation</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">The Xerces
Society is an international nonprofit organization that protects the
diversity of like through invertebrate conservation. To join the
Society, make a contribution, or read about our work, please visit <a href="http://www.xerces.org/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">www.xerces.org</a>.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">Matthew
Shepherd</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">Director,
Pollinator Conservation Program</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">4828
SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, OR
97215, USA</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">Tel: 503-232
6639 Cell: 503-807 1577 Fax: 503-233 6794</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">Email: <a href="mailto:mdshepherd@xerces.org" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">mdshepherd@xerces.org</a> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">_____________________________________________________________________
</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;"><font face="Arial" size="2">In growing fruit crops the pollination aspect is
very important as we all know. I do not know if this new program will
help but maybe it will.</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;"><font face="Arial" size="2">Regards,</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;"><font face="Arial" size="2">Richard Ashton</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;"><font face="Arial" size="2">Oak Creek Orchard</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><a href="http://www.oakcreekorchard.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">www.oakcreekorchard.com</a></font></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><a href="mailto:bwoodtx@verizon.net" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">bwoodtx@verizon.net</a></font></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;"> </p>
</div>
</div>
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