Tell your Governor: Be a Bee-Friendly State

Last year alone, there was a nearly 40 percent decline in the honeybee population.¹

 

 

Send a Message for Bees 

Bees need safe, healthy habitat to survive.

Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are among the major causes of colony collapse disorder.²

As native vegetation is replaced by roadways, neighborhoods and crop fields, bees lose the food sources and nesting sites they rely on. That’s why we’re asking our governors to make changes that create more sustainable states for bees.

How can we make a safer world for bees?

Here’s how your state can make public lands more sustainable habitats for bees:

1. Plant native flowering plants. To attract and sustain foraging bees, native plants should be grown on public lands. Research shows that bees are four times more attracted to native than non-native plants.³ Bees are also best adapted to local, native plants, which reliably produce  the nectar and pollen that they rely on.⁴
2. Provide bee nesting blocks. Roughly 30 percent of North America’s 5,000 native bee species nest in aboveground cavities and tunnels.⁵ To replace cleared trees and brush piles, bee nesting blocks can function as shelter from the elements and a place to nest. Bee nesting blocks provide offer rest for foraging bees and protection from predators and harsh weather.

Send a message for a bee-friendly state.

From roadway medians to public parks to the capitol building, states manage large amount of public land. It’s time for governors to welcome bees in.

At least three states — Kentucky, Minnesota and Washington — have listened and taken action to protect and restore bee habitats.⁶ Now, we’re calling on all governors to commit to conserving bees. By providing native plants and shelter in public lands, states can replace lost habitats and defend bees.

Join our movement to save the bees and add your name to make your home a bee-friendly state.

Send a Message

1. Julia Jacobo, “Nearly 40% decline in honey bee population last winter ‘unsustainable,’ experts say,” ABC News, July 9, 2019. 
2. “Threats to Pollinators,” U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Last accessed July 25, 2019. 
3. “Picking Plants for Pollinators,” Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, February 23, 2017. 
4. “Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden Using Native Plants,” USDA Forest Service, Last accessed July 25, 2019. 
5. Julia Brokaw and Rufus Isaacs, “Building and Managing Bee Hotels for Wild Bees,” Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, June 2017.
6. “Pollinator Health,” National Conference of State Legislatures, October 2, 2018.