Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Indiana’s Senator Mike Braun, along with U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19) and Rudy Yakym (R-IN-02), introduced a bipartisan, bicameral resolution to recognize the importance of pollinators to ecosystem health and agriculture in the United States by designating June 16 through June 22, 2024, as “National Pollinator Week.” The resolution emphasizes the vital role native pollinators play in the health of our ecosystems and economies while highlighting the difficulties many pollinator species face, including the iconic Western Monarch butterfly.
“In celebration of National Pollinator Week, this resolution recognizes that pollinators are critical to maintaining life as we know it. By all of us doing our part, we can help pollinators like the iconic Western Monarch recover and thrive in Oregon and across the nation. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure we adequately support America’s pollinators,” said Sen. Merkley.
“Pollinators are small creatures that have a big impact on keeping our ecosystems and food chain running. National Pollinator Week recognizes the importance of our native pollinators and the need to conserve our native pollinators and their habitats,” said Sen. Braun.
“Pollinators, like the iconic western monarch butterfly, are increasingly threatened by climate change and habitat loss, putting our entire ecosystem in jeopardy,” said Rep. Panetta. “Pollinator Week recognizes the importance of pollinators to the beauty and bounty we are blessed with in California’s 19th Congressional District and across our nation. I’m proud to lead this effort to raise awareness of the challenges facing our pollinators and the work at all levels that needs to take place to rescue, restore, and revitalize these species.”
“During National Pollinator Week, I’m pleased to join my colleagues in recognizing the outsized impact these tiny creatures have on our ecosystem and our economy, and to help raise awareness about the role we all can play in conserving these important species,” said Rep. Yakym.
The resolution is endorsed by Corteva, Indiana Farm Bureau, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy Indiana, and Xerces Society.
“Pollinators are vital to life on our planet and we are very happy to support the designation of National Pollinator Week for 2024,” said Scott Hoffman Black, Executive Director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. “Continuing to recognize the importance of these animals is a significant step to ensure they grace our farms, meadows and cities into the future.”
“Native pollinators like bees and butterflies do so much to support our ecosystems and our economic systems. Our way of life depends on these tiny, often unseen, creatures whose numbers are dwindling rapidly,” said Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón, monarch recovery strategist for the National Wildlife Federation. “We thank Senators Merkley and Braun as well as Representatives Panetta and Yakym for working together to raise awareness about the urgent need to conserve all pollinators, including the one-of-a-kind monarch butterflies.”
Where pollinators thrive, so do farms, so it makes sense that agriculture plays a leading role in creating more places where pollinators can flourish. We’re proud to support efforts to enhance biodiversity, through our operations and our community engagement, to support the health of pollinators, and it turn, healthy farms and food,” said Cristian Barcan, Global Sustainability Strategy Leader at Corteva.
“Pollinators are experiencing a global decline, threatened by myriad threats. They provide essential ecosystem services, most obviously the pollination of flowering plants, including a third of our food crops. This resolution helps elevate awareness of the importance of these overlooked insects to our wellbeing,” said John Shuey, The Nature Conservancy Indiana Director of Science.
“We applaud Senators Merkley and Braun as well as Representatives Panetta and Yakym for introducing a resolution to designate this week as National Pollinator Week. This resolution underscores the crucial role pollinators play in our ecosystems and highlights the importance of conservation efforts to protect these vital species and preserve biodiversity,” said Bradley Williams, Deputy Legislative Director, Sierra Club.
Full text of the resolution can be found here.
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