Friend,

When even wildlife refuges are poisoned with bee-killing pesticides, where are bees supposed to go?

In 2018, the Trump administration lifted a ban on the use of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides in wildlife refuges.1 The result? Refuges that should be safe havens for pollinators are instead potentially transformed into deadly minefields of toxic chemicals.

It's time to give our best pollinators their wildlife refuges back, and ban the use of bee-killing pesticides in these important habitats.

Call on our U.S. senators to ban bee-killing neonic pesticides in wildlife refuges nationwide.

The world is getting much less safe for bees and other pollinators. Widespread neonic use has left America's agricultural landscape almost 50 times more toxic to bees than it was just a few decades ago.2 One study found neonics on more than half of sampled plants commonly purchased at garden stores.3

Bees are a vital part of their ecosystems. They pollinate hundreds of thousands of plant species -- from the flowers that carpet wild meadows to the food crops that you and I depend on. We can't afford to lose bees, so we need to do everything in our power to stop poisoning them with pesticides.

Wildlife refuges should be safe for wildlife, including bees. Ask our U.S. senators to take action today.

One-quarter of America's native bee species are at increasing risk of extinction.4 Pesticides like neonics are a big part of the growing threat to bees -- and they're a part of the problem we know how to solve. We can simply stop using them, especially in places that are supposed to be safe havens for wildlife.

If we can restore a ban on the use of bee-killing neonics in wildlife refuges, the 95 million acres of our wildlife refuge system -- roughly the size of California -- will provide an oasis of safety for pollinators of all kinds.

Will you speak up for the bees by sending a message to our U.S. senators today?

Thank you,

Rex Wilmouth
Senior Program Director

1. Reuters, "Trump administration lifts ban on pesticides linked to declining bee numbers," The Guardian, August 3, 2018.
2. Stephen Leahy, "Insect 'apocalypse' in U.S. driven by 50x increase in toxic pesticides," National Geographic, August 6, 2019.
3. Pesticide Research Institute, "Pilot Study on Neonicotinoids in Bee-Friendly Flowers," May 21, 2014.
4. Maryellen Kennedy Duckett, "Nature needs us to act," National Geographic, March 4, 2020.