Dear Friend,

Let me get right to the point: We're counting on your support to ensure we can go all-in this year to tackle the biggest threats facing our most important pollinators.

This work is more urgent than ever before: Last year, U.S. beekeepers reported terrible winter losses, followed by the worst summer on record.1

We're doubling down on our efforts to save the bees, and using the power of grassroots organizing, strategic advocacy and independent research to effect change -- but we can't do it without you.

Support our work by making a matched donation to Environment Colorado's Year-End Drive. Until midnight tonight, generous donors will match your gift dollar for dollar, up to $100,000 nationwide.

Large-scale bee deaths have a cascading effect on entire ecosystems. Today, there are over 250,000 species of flowering plants and trees that rely on bees to ensure reproduction.2 Continuing hive collapse threatens the survival of plants and animals that rely on those plants as a food source -- a pattern that disrupts the entire food chain.

In order to save the bees and prevent devastating consequences, we're taking on a three-pronged approach. Your matched gift will help Environment Colorado and our national network:

• Cultivate bee-friendly habitat. Habitat loss and degradation reduces both the availability of nesting sites and the quantity of food available to foraging bees.3 But parks, roadsides and government lawns are all perfect for mitigating this threat. We're calling on cities, counties, states and the federal government to plant bee-friendly vegetation on public lands. Make your matched donation now >>

• Protect safe havens for bees. State parks, wildlife refuges and national parks should be free of bee-killing pesticides. That's why we're calling on Congress to ban the use of neonicotinoids, or neonics, in our most wild and vulnerable natural spaces. Donate now to help save the bees >>

• End the worst uses of bee-killing pesticides. The most recent research shows that neonicotinoids disrupt honeybees' circadian rhythms. This causes bees to lose all sense of time and place, induces stress, and lowers hive survival rates.4 To protect bees from ingesting neonicotinoids, we're calling for an end to their worst uses. Maryland, Connecticut and Vermont have enacted bans on the consumer sale of neonicotinoids. Now, it's time for the rest of the nation to follow suit. Donate now to double your impact >>

Friend, your support is critical to ensuring the success of our campaign. Donate before midnight tonight to double the impact of your year-end gift.

Thank you for all you do,

Hannah Collazo
State Director

1. "US beekeepers reported lower winter losses but abnormally high summer losses," Science Daily, June 22, 2020.
2. Alison Benjamin, "Why Bees Are the Most Invaluable Species," The Guardian, November 21, 2008.
3. Johanne Brunet, "Pollinator Decline: Implications for Food Security and Environment," Scientia, last accessed December 14, 2020.
4. Marissa Shapiro, "Honey bees lose sleep after ingesting pesticides, leading to greater stress and lower hive survival rates," Vanderbilt University, November 5, 2020.

Your donation will be used to support all of our campaigns to protect the environment, from saving the bees and protecting public lands, to standing up for clean water and fighting climate change. None of our work would be possible without supporters like you. Environment Colorado may transfer up to $50 per dues-paying member per year into the Environment Colorado Small Donor Committee.