Senator Jim Dill, Chair
Representative Craig Hickman
Members of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
February 13, 2020
LD 2083 An Act to Require the Board of Pesticide Control To Annually Publish Certain Information Regarding Pesticides and To Prohibit Certain Uses of Neonicotinoids
Dear Chairpersons Dill and Hickman and members of ACF,
We write as representatives of Sierra Club Maine’s 28,000 members and supporters. Sierra Club is the oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization in the US. We strongly urge the Committee to vote “ought to pass” on LD 2083.
The class of pesticides known as Neonicotinoids in known to have far ranging impacts on insects and in particular on Hymenoptera (bees). Bees are not the only insect pollinators. Butterflies, flies and other insects provide a huge service to the planet in pollinating flora. Worldwide there has been a catastrophic loss of insects directly tied to neonicotinoids, (“Defaunation in the Anthropocene”, Science July 2014). And as Harvard entomologist, E.O. Wilson says, without insects, the rest of life including humans “would disappear within months.”
The widespread use of these pesticides has dramatically impacted our fauna here in Maine. Most drivers have noted the lack of bugs splattering windshields in summer months. What is perhaps very notable is the dearth of lightning bugs in the past three years. Only four years ago, our own fields were aglow with thousands of lightning bugs, a sight most children and their adults delight in every year. Far from being a casual loss, they are more or less the canaries in the coal mine.
Passed on through pollen, neonicotinoids are also showing up in wetlands and streams resulting in far more widespread damage to aquatic invertebrates- as reported by Prairie Scientist, Christy Morrissey, U. of Saskatchewan. We don’t think of the huge impact that a continuation of insect die off could have as the dearth of food moves up the food chain, but the result would be rapid starvation of most species. We have the opportunity to choose another path and to protect the expanding agricultural movement here in Maine. We could once again be the Food Basket of the Northeast. But we must move forward causing least harm.
An alternative in agriculture is the fast-growing movement towards Regenerative Practices that use no-till, cover cropping and promote beneficial insect populations, providing much more sustainable, long term agricultural prospects.
Neonicotinoids do not belong in this scenario. The damage they do is well proven and devastating. We therefore urge the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to vote “ought to pass” on LD 2083.
Respectfully Submitted
Becky Bartovics
Legislative Team
Also,
Senator Dill, Representative Hickman and distinguished members of the Agriculture, Conservation
and Forestry Committee:
See PDF Here-
Thank you for allowing me to present our testimony to you. My name is Alice Elliott and I am here today as Director of Sierra Club Maine. Our chapter represents more than 28,000 members and supporters in Maine and is one of 64 chapters of the oldest grassroots environmental organization in the country. I am pleased to represent our members and in urging this committee to vote Ought to Pass on LD# 2083, which would remove four neonicotinoid pesticides (dinotefuran, clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam) from homeowner and landscaper use.
Studies show that this class of pesticides are emerging as being more toxic than other pesticides to bees. Studies show that of 92 individual compounds (insecticides, fungicides, miticides, herbicides) 3 neonicotinoids were in the top five chemicals that are considered the highest risk to honey bees and bumble bees. Bumble bees are particularly sensitive to these chemicals. Bumblebees are much more efficient pollinators than honeybees, particularly to important Maine crops such as blueberries and cranberries. They mainly forage for pollen rather than nectar, and with every visit to a flower, deposit more pollen to the flower pistils.
Copious research from highly credible research institutions on neonicotinoid pesticides have proven their persistence in the soil, ability to leach into the environment, high water solubility, and potential negative health implications for non-target organisms such as pollinators.
The most common -- and problematic -- use of neonics (neonicotinoids) is to coat or treat the seeds used to grow corn, soybeans, wheat and more. Any farmer who buys a treated seed applies neonics to his or her fields, irrespective of whether there’s a pest problem. Thus, this practice is un-targeted, indiscriminate and oftentimes unneeded. Yet, as one study points out, 79% or more of corn seed in the U.S. comes treated with neonics, making it hard for farmers to obtain seeds without the chemical.
Neonicotinoids are taken up by all parts of the plant as it grows. This means these systemic insecticides are present in pollen and nectar that pollinators can come in contact with when foraging. In addition, they have been found, often at higher levels, on neighboring flowers and grass, in nearby waterways, and persisting in the soil for long periods of time.
Additionally, neonics are sold directly to ordinary consumers in all but three states, turning consumer backyards and suburban areas, which increasingly have become bee havens due to the abundance of wildflowers in yards and parks, into death traps for bees.
Seventy percent of global food crops are pollinated by bees. Sierra Club Maine urges this committee to vote LD# 2083 Ought to Pass as an important step in protecting Maine’s unpaid and uncelebrated agricultural works, our pollinators.
Sincerely,
Alice Elliott