# Pr **omoting Po**  **llina to**  **r Health St**  **ak eholder**  **Lis te**  **ning Session**

Arlingto n, Virginia November 12, 2014 Call - in Number: 1 - 866 - 299 - 3188 Conference Code: 703 - 308 - 8200 For media inquiries, please cont act Cath y Milbourn at (202) 564 - 7849 or Milbourn.cath y@epa.gov Photos courtesy of ARS and USGS

## Pr **esiden tial**  **Memor andum:**  **Cr ea**  **ting a F**  **eder al**  **Str ate**  **gy t o Pr**  **omot e the**  **Health of Honey Bees and Other P ollina**  **to rs**  On June 20, 2014, Pr esiden t Obama issued a memor andum calling on F eder al ag encies to incr ease and coor dina te their efforts to impr ove bee health. The Memo is br oken in to 3 main sections: 1. Iden tific ation of the T ask F or ce. 2. Mission of the T

ask F or ce. 3. Actions t o increase and impr ove pollinat or habit at. Photo courtesy of ARS

# Section 1. **The T**

**ask F or** **ce**

# Section 2. **The Mission and Function of the T**  **ask F or** **ce** a) The R esear ch Action Plan i. Studies of fact or s that affect the health of manag ed and nativ e bees. ii. Data and technology sharing to tr ack stat us and tr ends in manag ed hiv es. iii. Assessmen ts of nativ e pollinator s and modeling of their habitats. iv. Str ate gies and guidance for affor dable, pollinator - friendly seed mix es. v. Methods to r educe e xposur e t o pes ticides. vi. Prioritizing pr ojects for habitat re stor ation. Photos courtesy of ARS

# Section 2. **The Mission and Function of the T**  **ask F or** **ce** b) Public E ducation Plan i. St eps individuals and businesses can take to addr ess losses of pollinator s. ii. Re commendations for coordinated education campaign. 

### c) Public - Priv ate P artnerships i. To encour ag e pr otection of pollinator s. ii. To incr ease the quality and quan tity of habitat. Photo courtesy of NRCS

# Section 3. **Impr oving and Incr** **easing Po**  **llina to**  **r Habit**  **at** a) Enhance habitat on feder al lands and facilities. b) Enhance habitat on rights - of- wayand easements. c) Incorpor ate pollinator health in future F eder al restor at ion and reclamation pr ojects. d) Rev ise Fe der al guidance on facilities management to impr ove habitat. e) Develop bes t management pr actices for public lands. f) Establish a reser ve of pollinator - friendly seed mix es for re - vegetation. g) Increase acreage and for age v alue of pollinator habitat in F eder al conser vat ion pr ogr ams and pr ovide technical assis tance to landowner s in pollinator - friendly pr actices. Photo courtesy of NRCS

# Section 3. **Impr oving and Incr** **easing Po**  **llina to**  **r Habit**  **at (**  **co nt**  **.)** h) Assis t States and State wildlife org aniz at ions in iden tifying and implementing pollinator conser vat ion pr ojects. i) Increase pollinator habitat along Fe der al and State ro adw ays . j) Increase pollinator habitat on military pr operty. k) Increase pollinator habitat on land and water resour ce development pr ojects. l) Assess the e ffe cts of pes ticides on pollinator s and e xpedite review of new pr oducts targeting pes ts t o pollinator s. m) Ta ke immediate action to support pollinator s in the 2014 gr owing season and ther eafter

. Photo courtesy of USDA

# Timeline

**June July**  **August September**  **October**

**November December**  **January Fe**  **bruary Mar** **ch** Pr esidential Memorandum Issued on June 20, 2014

Final dr aft of E ducation and R esear ch Plans, and Best Management Practices, submitted to the White House by Dec. 20 th Tw o stakeholder l istening s essions at EP

A and USDA on Nov. 12 and 17 CE Q and GSA issue guidance

Public ro llout of T

ask Force pr oducts in late winter/early spring Monthly meetings of Agency principals, Bi - weekly meetings of Agency P oints of Contact

# Pr **ogr ess t**  **o Da te** 

• **Fe der** **al F acility and Land**  **Guidance:** In October 2014, the Council on En vir onmen ta l Quality re leased an addendum t o its Guidance for Fe der al Agencies on Sus ta inable Pr actices fo r Designed Landscapes to pr omote pollinator habitat cr ea tion and main te nance. The Gener al Services Adminis tr ation has also pr epar ed and is implemen ting pollinator habitat guidance in Fe der al building construction, which will be published in the g ener al update of the P100 standar d . Photos courtesy of CEQ and USDA

# Pr **ogr ess t**  **o Da te** 

• **Fo ra**  **ge a**  **nd Nutrition Summit:** In October 2014, USD A hos te d a Bee Fo ra ge and Nutrition Summit in Virginia. Da y 1 consisted of pr esen tations, and Da y 2 followed with working gr oups . Beekeeper s, commodity gr oups, r etailer s, pr ofessional societies, agr ochemical companies, NGO’ s, and F eder al and St ate re pr esen tatives atte nded.

Photo courtesy of ARS

# Wh **y a Lis te**  **ning Session?**

• Po llinator s ar e import an t pla ye rs in natur al and managed ecos yste ms on public and priv ate lands. • Po llinator habit at spans public and priv ate lands. • Priv ate and public re sear ch can be complemen ta ry in addr essing pollinator health. • Priv ate entities ha ve a nation wide, div er se sta ke holder network with the capacity to deliver information locally.

Photo courtesy of NRCS

# Goals f**or This Lis** **te ning Session**  **Solicit Fe**  **edback on:**

• Bes t managemen t pr actices • Pe st icide risk mitig ation • Re sear ch • Ed ucation opportunities • Po llinator habit at impr ovements • Public - priv ate partner ships

Photo courtesy of Sam Droege, USGS

# The Import **ance of P**  **artner ships**  **How can the F eder** **al g overnment catalyz**  **e and coor**  **dina te**  **p artner**  **ship s**  **fo r pollinat**  **or health?**  • What ex is ting partner ships ar e out ther e ? What is their function, how big ar e they impact - wise, and can they be scaled ? • What has made e xis ting partner ships success ful and what has been challenging? • What other partner ships would be help ful? Photo courtesy of ARS

# Fo **rma t F**  **or Lis te**  **ning Session**

• Wa it to be called on by facilit ator . • Use micr ophone. • Limit y our commen ts to no mor e than 5 minut es ata time. • If possible, submit y our commen ts in writte n fo rm as well. • Commen ts ma y be submitte d online at www.r egulations. gov

, EP A docket number EP

A HQ- OPP - 2014 - 0806 . Please submit y our commen ts by November 24, 2014.