Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, attended the White House Pollinator Initiative Stakeholder meeting Wednesday, and provided oral and written comments on how the White House can protect the diverse array of pollinators.
“I am very pleased that the White House is engaged in pollinator conservation,” said Scott Hoffman Black. “We must act now to provide pesticide-free habitat on landscapes across the U.S. to protect these vitally important animals.”
The meeting was attended by more than 60 conservationists, researchers, educators, farmers, beekeepers and corporate representatives. It was facilitated by Dr. Michael Stebbins of the White House Office of Science Policy.
In his opening comments, Dr. Stebbins said that “there are many different stressors impacting various pollinators: habitat loss, pesticides, parasites and climate change. Because of that, we need a hands-on approach to better leverage everyone’s investments to reverse the loss of pollinators.” He also noted that pollinators are a diverse group—including bumble bees, monarch butterflies, and even beetles—and that President Obama is interested in this issue himself.
Dr. Stebbins asked each attendee to identify:
- Activities, policies, or other initiatives Federal agencies could enact with existing resources to address pollinator health;
- Potential public-private partnerships that could be formed to address these issues; and
- Significant commitments that your organization would be interested in making, which the White House could help raise up to increase attention to these issues.
The Xerces Society provided this information in written comments submitted during the meeting. A copy of these comments is attached.
###
The comments submitted by the Xerces Society are also available at: http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/XercesSociety_pollinator-conservation_apr2014.pdf
For more information about the Xerces Society’s pollinator conservation work, please visit http://www.xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/
Read more about Xerces’ Monarch Conservation Campaign, including efforts to conserve overwintering sites in California and restore breeding habitat in key regions of the United States: http://www.xerces.org/monarchs/
Read a letter about the need for a national monarch conservation initiative recently delivered to the White House: http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/monarch-recovery-initiative-letter.pdf
Learn about Project Milkweed, which is working with agencies and private seed companies to develop regional sources of native milkweed seed: http://www.xerces.org/milkweed/
THE XERCES SOCIETY FOR INVERTEBRATE CONSERVATION
Protecting the Life that Sustains Us
The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. Since 1971, the Society has been at the forefront of invertebrate protection, harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the enthusiasm of citizens to implement conservation programs worldwide. To learn more about our work, please visit www.xerces.org.