Governor Dayton Moves to Protect Bees
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“This morning at the State Fair, Governor Mark Dayton and Commissioner of Agriculture Dave Frederickson announced Minnesota’s comprehensive new plans to limit the use of bee-harming pesticides across the state. Today’s decision concludes a nearly 3-year review of the impact of neonicotinoid insecticides on pollinators, conducted by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA). The executive order announced today makes Minnesota a national leader in pollinator protection — and the first state to tackle neonicotinoid use in farm fields and on public lands.
“Today, Minnesota set the strongest rules in the nation to protect pollinators from pesticides,” said Lex Horan of Pesticide Action Network. “The plan will help ensure that bee-harming pesticides won’t be used unnecessarily, and it lays the groundwork for reducing the use of neonicotinoid seed coatings. This decision is rooted in the resounding scientific evidence that neonicotinoids are harmful to pollinators. It’s past time for state and federal decisionmakers to take action to restrict the use of bee-harming pesticides, and today Minnesota did just that.””
“Seeking to reverse a decline in bees and other pollinators, Gov. Mark Dayton issued an executive order Friday that limits the use of nicotine-based pesticides.
The governor’s move won praise from environmentalists, but farm groups said it could hurt farmers financially.
Nicotine-based insecticides known as neonicotinoids are effective against a variety of pests, so they’re widely used, but a growing body of research shows the insecticides harm bees.
After a two-year review of 300 scientific studies, the state Agriculture Department decided restrictions were necessary, said Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson.
”Some of these are bold recommendations that have not been considered by any other state across the nation,” Frederickson said at a Minnesota State Fair news conference.”
We now await the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's review of the neonicotinoids, which is anticipated to be completed by 2018.
