Pest Management Professional, July 2015

Industry Intel COMPANy SuPPlier NewS What you need to know about the White House Pollinator Plan Editors Note Honey bee populations have been declining for several years giving rise to the term colony collapse disorder There have been many theories explaining the epidemic have been numerous including an increase of Varroa mite populations and or a segment of beekeepers that was not using best practices The theory that neonictinoid insecticides were a root cause however leapt to the top of the list when in June 2013 approximately 25000 bees dropped dead in an Oregon retailers parking lot ostensibly from a pesticide misapplication by a landscape company For months the National Pest Management Association NPMA awaited the governments response to a call from environmental groups for strict policies to regulate pest management around pollinators honey bees in particular stinging insects in general The wait ended on May 19 2015 when the White House offcially unveiled its 58 page Pollinator Plan A PDF of the document can be downloaded at mypmp net wp content uploads 2015 05 national strategyto promote the health of honey pdf The following is an abridged version of the Five Things to Know bulletin the NPMAs Policy Team issued later to help educate members who are pest management professionals PMPs The bottom line right now the NPMA says is the restrictions anticipated from the U S Environmental Protection Association EPA should not have an immediate direct impact on structural applications But as states institute their own pollinator plans and various pesticides are further scrutinized at the federal level that status could change 1The plan focuses on increasing research on pollinator health and improving and expanding pollinator habitats The U S Department of Agriculture USDA and the EPA are leading the broader strategy It has four facets Pollinator research action plan Plans for expanding education and outreach Opportunities for public private partnerships Improving pollinator habitat 2The ePA has issued a proposed rule for public comment On June 12 the EPA extended the comment period on the proposed rule to Bees Mitigating Exposure from Acutely Toxic Pesticide Products for an additional 30 days ending July 29 2015 To read the plan and view comments on the regulatory docket visit Tinyurl com epa bees The proposed protective measures include advisory hazard statements labeled as pollinator protection boxes for example as well as enforceable label language For sites that do not have managed bees on premises and under contract the EPA is leaving regulations up to individual states The NPMA fnds the state aspect to be an important one and has developed Pollinator Best Management Practices NPMAPestworld org pollinator bmps and a model state engagement strategy NPMAPestworld org pollinator advocacy StateProtectPlans pdf that PMPs can use when speaking with state regulators 3The strategy outlines three overarching benchmarks Specifcally the federal government wants to reduce honey bee colony losses during winter to no more than 15 percent within 10 years increase the Eastern population of the monarch butterfy to 225 million butterfies and restore and enhance 7 million acres of land for pollinators during the next fve years through federal state and public private partnerships 4while neonicotinoids are being fasttracked for reevaluation other active ingredients are being looked at too In addition to neonics the NPMA has identifed three other active ingredients used by PMPs that are currently on the EPAs radar boric acid imidacloprid and propoxur though not all are used in outdoor settings with no potential impact on pollinators This assessment is intended to help fll the data void referred to in the EPAs letter to registrants in April 2015 regarding the interim position to place the registration of new neonicotinoid use patterns on hold 5Customized mitigation plans will be developed by states and will focus on communication between beekeepers and applicators to reduce the likelihood of exposure to pesticide applications Numerous states already have pollinator protection plans in place and at press time many others are creating plans For more resources including state contact information visit the NPMAs PollinatorFacts org website 16 July 2015 Pest Management Professional mypmp net