Recipient: California Department of Food and Agriculture
Date: January 18, 2007
Subject: Bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) pollination of field crops in the state of California. California Environmental Quality Act Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation et al. hereby submits comments to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) regarding the Notice of intent to adopt a negative declaration for a proposal to introduce a non-native bumble bee, Bombus impatiens, into California for open field crop pollination. The non-native bumble bee Bombus impatiens is classified as a pest in California and requires a state permit for importation into the state. State permits are issued to California residents or businesses by CDFA; Division of Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services. These comments are in response to the analysis and tentative conclusions as presented in the CEQA document, “California Environmental Quality Act Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration” (September 2006).