Protecting Pollinators: Laws, Policies, and Action

Julie McIntyre, Southwest Region Monarch Lead

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

New Mexico Bar Association

22 June 2017

Overview

Pollination Pollinators Why we care Listed pollinators ESA Laws, regulations,

policies - Federal Laws, regulations,

policies - States Actions Backyard actions

Pollination & Fertilization

3 types of pollination:

• Wind: Common

• Indirect

• Small pollen grains

• Flowers drab

• Water: Rare

• Float

• Splashed

• Animals: Common

• Direct

• Larger pollen grains

• Flowers showy

How plants attract visitors

Flowers • Colors, shapes • Landing platform

Scents Resources

• Nectar = sugars, vitamins • Pollen = protein, minerals

Once fertilized • Stop making nectar • May change color

Meet the pollinators!

• Bees • Butterflies/moths • Flies • Wasps • Beetles • Birds • Bats • Small mammals • Humans

Why interest in pollinators?

Benefit natural diversity Contribute to medicine Sustain agriculture Environmental monitors Ecosystem health, services Human nutrition Soil health, erosion control Clean air, water Sustain wildlife Carbon cycling, decomposition Intangible, aesthetic values

Economic drivers Pollinators create 1/3 plants we eat – herbs, chili, chocolate, coffee

Pollination service valued at US $235 – 577 billion per year

More humans = more agriculture (~40% land used for agriculture)

Growing need for pollinator services

Necessary for food security, human health, global food webs, biodiversity

Bees 20,000 in world 4,000+ native to North

America ~1300 species in New

Mexico Females gather pollen Exhibit flower constancy Visit 100s flowers per trip 5,000+ flowers per lifetime

Honey bees

Not native to Americas

Build colonies – honey, wax

Domesticated

Crop production >50% decline managed

hives since 1950

200-300% increase of cropland requiring bees

70-100% decline in feral colonies

Important to diversity pollinators

Native, wild bees Excellent pollinators Tomatoes, squashes, blueberries – best

Cherry tomatoes – 3x production

Sunflowers – 2x seed set

Alfalfa – 4x production (trip mechanism)

Active earlier, low light, low temperatures

No rental fees

Supplement honey bees

250-750 female orchard bees/ac = 1 – 2.5 hives honey bees

Pollinator declines Little baseline data Declining pollinator

populations in US and globally 56% species evident

2015-2016, 44% honeybee populations in US died in one season

2008-2014, wild bee populations in US declined by 23%

Traits Small dietary breadth

Narrow phenological window

Large body size

Some plants are endangered due to lack of pollination

Rusty patched bumble bee

Colony Collapse Disorder Honey bees only Foraging is energetically,

cognitively demanding Bees travel large

distances to collect food Flowers can be hard to

find Must return to nest Need finely tuned

senses, spatial awareness, learning, memory

Easily disrupted Many causes: disease,

parasites (mites), pesticides, habitat loss/fragmentation, contamination, cell phones?

Monarch butterfly

Why monarchs, why now? 2014 lowest numbers ever 20 year decline Winter colony area decline

Mexico, CA

2 studies in 2016 found 11-57% probability of quasi-extinction over 20 yrs.

Monarch migration at risk IUCN Red List: Endangered

Phenomenon (1983) WWF: Top 10 Species to Watch

(2010) Endangered Species Coalition

“Vanishing” List (2014) Milkweed loss August 2014 petition to

USFWS to list as Threatened Center for Biodiversity, Center

for Food Safety, Xerces Society, Lincoln Brower

Average = 6 ha

Stressors for monarchs

Habitat conversion, loss Changing agricultural practices

Urban/suburban expansion

Development – energy, infrastructure

Weather extremes

Pesticide use

Disease

Predation, parasitism Photo: WWF-México North American Monarch Conservation Plan, 2008 Illegal logging in Mexico

Photo: Mary Holland North American Monarch Conservation Plan, 2008 Spine-shouldered stinkbug with monarch larva

Photo: Texas Butterfly Ranch, 2012 Dead monarch caterpillars after eating milkweed laced with pesticide Dursban (chlorpyrifos) from nursery

Suite of growing threats:

Monarch - loss of wintering grounds

Old-growth forests in Michoacan, Mexico 1975 - Found by Catalina Trail

1980 - Decreed Wildlife Refuge

1986 - Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve

2008 - UNESCO World Heritage Site

THREATS IN MEXICO: logging, wood harvesting, agricultural practices, forest fires, climate change

Causes of declines – all pollinators

Habitat loss US losing >5000 acres/day 2006 – 2011 >1 million acres native

prairie converted to cropland 1-6% of native prairies still exist

Climate change, extreme weather Changing land practices

Agricultural monocropping Fire prevention

Pesticide use Insecticides Herbicides Fungicides

Invasive species Disease, parasitoids Competition

Legal protection – International, National LACEY ACT 1900 Import and Export Laws Prohibits commerce of illegally

killed animals Controls importation wildlife

thought to be injurious to agriculture and horticulture

Assists states and foreign countries to enforce their wildlife conservation laws.

Amended in 1981 to include arthropods

Legal protection - International CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna)

International treaty, finalized 1975

Countries work cooperatively to prevent trade of vulnerable wildlife species

183 Parties

5,600 animals, 30,000 plants Hummingbirds, honeyeaters, butterflies (Nymphalidae, Papilionidae), bats

3 CITES Appendices: I = most endangered, brink of extinction, trade prohibited

II = may soon be endangered, trade with certificate, no harm to wild populations

III = can become threatened, prevention of unsustainable trade, need permits

Legal protection - Federal ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT (ESA) Original: Endangered Species

Preservation Act in 1966, 1969

ESA enacted in 1973 (amended 1978,1982, 1988, 2004)

National and International

USFWS and USNMFS

Purpose: protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend

Collaboration with states, tribes, private landowners, NGOs, federal partners

Legal protection - Federal

ESA Defines “endangered” and

‘threatened” Includes plants and

invertebrates - subspecies Prohibits and/or controls the

take of rare animals and plants Federal agencies to use

authorities to conserve DOI, USDA, DoD, Commerce

Matching funds available to States with cooperative agreements

Listed pollinators are protected ~70 species have been delisted

or downlisted 0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1978

-198

0

1981

-198

4

1985

-198

8

1989

-199

2

1993

-199

6

1997

-200

0

2001

-200

4

2005

-200

8

2009

-201

2

2013

-201

6

2017

Num

ber o

f Del

iste

d Sp

ecie

s

ErrorRecoveredExtinct

Reason for Delisting or Downlisting,1978-2017

44 Federally Listed Pollinators

Oregon silverspot Blackburn’s sphinx moth Kern primrose sphinx moth

Bats: 3 spp. - 2 in Southwest Birds: 6 spp. Bumble bee: 1 sp. Butterflies: 27 spp. Skippers: 5 spp. Moths: 2 spp. Fly: 1 sp. Beetle: 1 sp.

Bay checkerspot

Callippe silverspot

Behren’s silverspot

Delhi sands flower loving fly

Taylor’s checkerspot Quino checkerspot Myrtle’s silverspot

Rusty patched bumble bee

Legal protections – Federal

PLANT QUARANTINE ACT 1912 Import/export regulations Transport of insects is

regulated – permits USDA – APHIS Goals: Safeguard agriculture

and resources; protect from entry of pests

Includes butterfly releases Tools:

Quarantine

Port of entry inspections

Logistical assistance in control programs

Monarchs are flagship, umbrella species

Continental Conservation

International Actions for Pollinators

Feb 2014: US, Mexico, Canada agree at North American Leaders Summit to establish working group to update 2008 Trinational Monarch Butterfly Conservation Plan

Migratory monarch occurs in all 48 lower states + Hawaii

Federal Actions for Pollinators June 2014 Presidential

Memorandum: Creating a Federal Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators Pollinator Health Task Force –

EPA, USDA (DOI, DOT, ACE)

May 2015 Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators Pollinator habitat

Honey bees

Monarchs

Pollinator Research Action Plan May 2015

Pollinator-Friendly Best Management Practices for Federal Lands May 2015

Federal Pollinator Strategy 3 GOALS: 1 – Honey bees:

reduce colony losses to 15% in 10 yrs

2 – Habitat: restore, enhance 7 million ac in US over 5 yrs

3 - Monarch: recover to 225 million (6 hectares in Mexico, 15 acres) monarchs by 2020

MONARCHS: OBJECTIVE - Boost population to prevent need to list STRATEGY – Proactive actions now 1 - Partnerships 2 - Education/Outreach 3 - Habitat 4 – Research HOPE – To engage everyone everywhere, especially a new generation in conservation

Federal Actions for Pollinators USDA – NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service) Farm Bill funds for incentives for

pollinator habitat, conservation on private lands EQIP

CSP

ACEP

2016 - $4 million for monarch projects

2017 Monarch becomes Working Lands for Wildlife Species

Benefits to other pollinators too

Federal Actions for Pollinators SAVING AMERICA’S POLLINATORS ACT 2015 EPA to protect pollinators

Suspend registration of neonicotinoid pesticides

Complete field studies – effects

Monitor native bees, pollinators

Federal Actions for Pollinators Highways Bettering the Economy and Environment Pollinator Protection Act (Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act) 2016

US Dept of Transportation + willing States

Habitat improvement and forage for pollinators = eligible project cost

Federal-aid highway construction Rights-of-way adjacent to such

highways Integrated vegetation management

practices Reduced mowing

Planting native forbs, grasses

Migratory Waystations for monarchs

Map: http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/fedlands.html

Conservation: Pollinator Habitat Management

Monarch Regulatory Process • Dec 2014 positive

90-day finding initiates a species status review to produce 12-month finding

• Species Status Assessment framework (SSA) for review underway

• 12-month finding – after status review:

December 2014

June 30, 2019

• Warranted (Proposed Listing)

• Warranted but precluded (Candidate)

• Not warranted

August 2014

We are here!

State Laws for Pollinators

States have management authority until determination made under ESA

Manage under fish & wildlife agency or Dept of Agriculture

Include in State Wildlife Action Plan

List as Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN)

Manage habitat to directly/indirectly benefit monarchs and pollinators

State Actions for Pollinators

August 2014: Monarch petition

Sept 2014 AFWA State Directors’ unanimous resolution supporting voluntary efforts for monarchs

Oct 2014: USFWS’s WSFR issues memo to encourage monarch and pollinator conservation in WSFR grants to states SWG (State Wildlife Grants)

Invertebrates are eligible

Nov 2014: WSFR Action Plan for Monarch Conservation

State Actions for Pollinators Feb 2014 Presidential Memo

Calls for States and Feds

Identifies SWAPs (State Wildlife Action Plans)

Mar 2015 MOU – AFWA and FWS encouraging states to collaborate for monarchs

SWG funding easier if pollinator species are added as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need Can use SWG to conduct

surveys if lack data

SWG can be used for non-SGCN

Pollinators and the State Wildlife Action Plans (The Heinz Center, 2013)

US WAFWA States – Monarch Consideration 2016

State Wildlife Laws

STATE *2006 also **Retracted

Wildlife Agency Authority

In SWAP revision (9 states)

As SGCN (5 states)

Direct Habitat Benefits

Indirect Habitat Benefits

Other – Outreach Monitoring Research

AZ No No No CA* Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes

CO Yes Yes Yes HI No No ID Yes Yes Yes KS* Yes Yes Yes MT No No No NE Yes NV No No No Yes NM No Yes/No Yes/No No Yes

ND Yes Yes No Yes Yes OK Yes No Yes Yes OR Yes Yes Yes SD No No Yes Yes Yes

TX Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes

UT No No No No Yes WA Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes WY No No No Yes

State Actions for Pollinators 230 different species of butterflies

are mentioned in 40 of the 56 total SWAPs.

36 SWAPs mention one or more moth species, some of which are known pollinators.

49 different SWAPs mentioned a total of 64 different bat species, although only a few of these are confirmed pollinators.

18 distinct hummingbird species were included in 24 SWAPs.

11 SWAPs cited flies, mentioning 11 different species.

Only 10 SWAPs mentioned bees, although these states included a total of 31 bee species.

Monarch is official state insect for 7 states, including ID & TX

State Actions for Pollinators All States Combined - Legal actions taken to: Limit neonics

Label pesticides

Save, protect pollinators

Promote pollinator forage, native plants

Protect pollinator habitat

Use pollinator-friendly energy (solar)

Develop urban agriculture

Label plants, nursery stock

Pollinator friendly plant labeling

Declare eastern bumble bee as State Native Pollinator of NJ

Provide business tax credit to public utilities with pollinator habitat in ROWs

Provide tax credits to farmers who develop native pollinator habitat on farms

State Actions for Monarchs 45 States + DC engage with monarch

conservation 29 in updated SWAPs 19 included as SGCN Key funders:

USDA – NRCS

USFWS

USFS

National Wildlife Federation

Pheasants Forever

Xerces Society

Pollinator Partnership

(Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 2015. State Fish and Wildlife Agency Activities to Benefit the Monarch Butterfly. Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Washington, DC, 42pp.)

New Mexico Law - Pollinators

DEPT OF AGRICULTURE

Bee Act – 1975 Registers commercial

apiaries

Prevents disease

Authorizes importation of bees

Noxious Weed Management Act 1998 Targets weed control

Protection of Native New Mexico Plants Act 1933-1953 Enumerates protected

plants

Prohibits removal of plants from state lands

Pesticide Control Act 1973 Prohibited acts

Registration, licensing

New Mexico State Listed Species NEW MEXICO WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ACT Except as otherwise provided in the Wildlife Conservation Act [17-2-37 NMSA 1978], it is unlawful for any person to take, possess, transport, export, process, sell or offer for sale or ship any species of wildlife appearing on any of the following lists: Mexican long-nosed bat – E Lesser long-nosed bat – T Broad-billed hummingbird – T White-eared hummingbird – T Violet-crowned hummingbird – T Lucifer hummingbird – T Costa’s hummingbird – T

Does not include Arthropods Insect pollinators are not protected

Southwest milkweed • AZ: 30 spp – Welsh’s

• CA: 15 spp

• NV: 13 spp

• NM: 28 spp

• UT: 18 spp – Welsh’s

• OK: 25 spp

• TX: 37 spp

Habitat

Outdoor classrooms USFWS’s Partners for Fish & Wildlife Program

Schools – Opportunities for Education and Habitat

BEFORE AFTER

Monarchs intensively monitored at every stage

Slide information courtesy of Leslie Riel, unpublished data

MONITORING PROGRAMS • NABA: North American Butterfly

Association count program • MLMP: Monarch Larvae Monitoring

Project • JN: Journey North • MH: Monarch Health • MW: Monarch Watch • TMC: Thanksgiving Monarch Counts • SWM: Southwest Monarch Study • WWF-MX: World Wildlife Fund in

Mexico • TMMP: Texas Monarch Monitoring

Project • XMS: Xerces Milkweed Survey • iNaturalist: app for monarchs &

milkweed locations • eButterfly: app for butterflies

Monarch Migration – Citizen Science SPRING MIGRATION Mexico to Canada & US

FALL MIGRATION Canada & US to Mexico

Data from Southwest is lacking

Monarchs follow rivers Documentations in West

Huachuca Mountains, 3 Oct 2012. Photo by Bob Herrmann, Morris et al. 2015

Monarch distribution associated with rivers (Dingle et al. 2005)

What States Can Do 1) Add pollinators to State SWAPs 2) Highlight, recognize pollinator

species already in SWAPs 3) Highlight key pollinator habitats

in SWAPs 4) Conduct status review for

pollinator groups 5) Survey for pollinators with little

data 6) Emphasize habitat conservation

activities that also benefit pollinators

7) Promote restoration of pollinator habitats in agricultural landscapes

8) Develop and implement community outreach programs

Source: Heinz Center Report. 2013. Pollinators and the State Wildlife Action Plans: Voluntary Guidance for State Wildlife Agencies

Lesser long-nosed bat covered in pollen. Photo: US National Park Service

What States can do Monarchs and pollinators need water,

food, shelter All scales are helpful – large landscapes

and small gardens People of all ages, backgrounds can

make a difference Manage lowest hanging fruit –

Balance level livestock grazing to benefit monarchs

Plan mowing schedules to provide floral resources

Implement fire, if possible, at dormant times

Control invasive plants

Promote native, diverse communities

Enhance riparian areas, restore springs, seeps

Engage citizens, agencies, tribes, corporations in research, monitoring, gardening

Conduct research, monitoring

Pollinator Week Proclamations

What YOU can do for pollinators:

Create a garden Grow native plants in clusters Provide spring, summer, fall blooms Plant local milkweed Create overwintering habitat Limit pesticide use Provide fresh water Mow less often

EMBRACE UNMANICURED NATURE

THANKYOU! Thoughts? http://ncel.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Pollinator-Briefing-Book-

FINAL.pdf http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-

resources/pollinator-health.aspx https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/epa-actions-protect-

pollinators https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-

bill/2738?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22pollinator%22%5D%7D&resultIndex=1

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1284 https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/Documents/R2ES/Pollinators/4-

SWAP_Pollinator_Guidance_2014.pdf https://csfs.colostate.edu/agroforestry-helps-pollinators/ https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/BMPs/documents/Pollinator

FriendlyBMPsFederalLands05152015.pdf https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/What_is_Pollination/index.

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