Climate Action
Action Alert: Wildlife Under Attack by Pesticides
August 24, 2018
Our wildlife is under attack once again!
The Trump administration has reversed a long-standing ban on the use of deadly pesticides linked to declining bee populations and other species deaths, and the use of genetically modified, pesticide-resistant crops on national wildlife refuges, where farming is permitted.
The crops are genetically engineered to be immune to pesticides such as neonicotinoids, but the bees that pollinate them and other wild animals are not.
A growing body of research has found that neonicotinoid pesticides are highly toxic to pollinators and one of the leading causes of the current bee population collapse. The decision to allow the use of genetically modified seeds on wildlife refuges will spur greater use of highly toxic pesticides, affecting pollinators, as well as birds, aquatic animals, and other wildlife.
Take bees, for example. Bee populations in the United States and around the world are plummeting. (Find out more from our fact sheet on bees.) Without bees, many of our crops will fail and a critical portion of our food system will collapse. We need to protect these pollinators to help grow most of the food we eat.
Wildlife refuges are designated to protect the species that rely on them. Allowing neonicotinoid pesticides and GMO plants to be used inside refuges kills bees and other species and only benefits pesticide producers.
Tell the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior that you oppose this reversal. If enough of us speak up, they will have to listen!
To protect our species, send a letter to the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior asking them to reinstate the rule that prohibits the use of neonicotinoid pesticides and genetically modified crops in wildlife refuges. For your convenience, we’ve drafted a letter for you to send directly to the heads of the Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of the Interior. Please click here to send your letter. If you want to send your letter individually via regular mail, here is the letter and the information on where to send it. Feel free to make any modifications you desire, and ask your friends and family to help.
We can’t afford to be silent. As the administration continues to attack environmental protections, we must push back, speak up, and tell them that what they are doing is unacceptable.
