Creating a Federal Strategy To Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators, 35901-35907 [2014-14946]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 121 (Tuesday, June 24, 2014)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 35901-35907]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14946]



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Vol. 79

Tuesday,

No. 121

June 24, 2014

Part IV





The President





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Memorandum of June 20, 2014--Creating a Federal Strategy To Promote the 
Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators



Notice of June 20, 2014--Continuation of the National Emergency With 
Respect to North Korea


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 79 , No. 121 / Tuesday, June 24, 2014 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 35903]]

                Memorandum of June 20, 2014

                
Creating a Federal Strategy To Promote the Health 
                of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators

                Memorandum for Heads of Executive Departments and 
                Agencies

                Pollinators contribute substantially to the economy of 
                the United States and are vital to keeping fruits, 
                nuts, and vegetables in our diets. Honey bee 
                pollination alone adds more than $15 billion in value 
                to agricultural crops each year in the United States. 
                Over the past few decades, there has been a significant 
                loss of pollinators, including honey bees, native bees, 
                birds, bats, and butterflies, from the environment. The 
                problem is serious and requires immediate attention to 
                ensure the sustainability of our food production 
                systems, avoid additional economic impact on the 
                agricultural sector, and protect the health of the 
                environment.

                Pollinator losses have been severe. The number of 
                migrating Monarch butterflies sank to the lowest 
                recorded population level in 2013-14, and there is an 
                imminent risk of failed migration. The continued loss 
                of commercial honey bee colonies poses a threat to the 
                economic stability of commercial beekeeping and 
                pollination operations in the United States, which 
                could have profound implications for agriculture and 
                food. Severe yearly declines create concern that bee 
                colony losses could reach a point from which the 
                commercial pollination industry would not be able to 
                adequately recover. The loss of native bees, which also 
                play a key role in pollination of crops, is much less 
                studied, but many native bee species are believed to be 
                in decline. Scientists believe that bee losses are 
                likely caused by a combination of stressors, including 
                poor bee nutrition, loss of forage lands, parasites, 
                pathogens, lack of genetic diversity, and exposure to 
                pesticides.

                Given the breadth, severity, and persistence of 
                pollinator losses, it is critical to expand Federal 
                efforts and take new steps to reverse pollinator losses 
                and help restore populations to healthy levels. These 
                steps should include the development of new public-
                private partnerships and increased citizen engagement. 
                Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President 
                by the Constitution and the laws of the United States 
                of America, I hereby direct the following:

                Section 1. Establishing the Pollinator Health Task 
                Force. There is hereby established the Pollinator 
                Health Task Force (Task Force), to be co-chaired by the 
                Secretary of Agriculture and the Administrator of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency. In addition to the Co-
                Chairs, the Task Force shall also include the heads, or 
                their designated representatives, from:

                    (a) the Department of State;
                    (b) the Department of Defense;
                    (c) the Department of the Interior;
                    (d) the Department of Housing and Urban 
                Development;
                    (e) the Department of Transportation;
                    (f) the Department of Energy;
                    (g) the Department of Education;
                    (h) the Council on Environmental Quality;
                    (i) the Domestic Policy Council;

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                    (j) the General Services Administration;
                    (k) the National Science Foundation;
                    (l) the National Security Council Staff;
                    (m) the Office of Management and Budget;
                    (n) the Office of Science and Technology Policy; 
                and
                    (o) such executive departments, agencies, and 
                offices as the Co-Chairs may designate.

                Sec. 2. Mission and Function of the Task Force. Within 
                180 days of the date of this memorandum, the Task Force 
                shall develop a National Pollinator Health Strategy 
                (Strategy), which shall include explicit goals, 
                milestones, and metrics to measure progress. The 
                Strategy shall include the following components:

                    (a) Pollinator Research Action Plan. The Strategy 
                shall include an Action Plan (Plan) to focus Federal 
                efforts on understanding, preventing, and recovering 
                from pollinator losses. The Plan shall be informed by 
                research on relevant topics and include:

(i) studies of the health of managed honey bees and native bees, including 
longitudinal studies, to determine the relative contributions of, and 
mitigation strategies for, different stressors leading to species declines 
and colony collapse disorder, including exposure to pesticides, poor 
nutrition, parasites and other pests, toxins, loss of habitat and reduced 
natural forage, pathogens, and unsustainable management practices;

(ii) plans for expanded collection and sharing of data related to 
pollinator losses, technologies for continuous monitoring of honey bee hive 
health, and use of public-private partnerships, as appropriate, to provide 
information on the status and trends of managed hive losses;

(iii) assessments of the status of native pollinators, including the 
Monarch butterfly and bees, and modeling of native pollinator populations 
and habitats;

(iv) strategies for developing affordable seed mixes, including native 
pollinator-friendly plants, for maintenance of honey bees and other 
pollinators, and guidelines for and evaluations of the effectiveness of 
using pollinator-friendly seed mixes for restoration and reclamation 
projects;

(v) identification of existing and new methods and best practices to reduce 
pollinator exposure to pesticides, and new cost-effective ways to control 
bee pests and diseases; and

(vi) strategies for targeting resources toward areas of high risk and 
restoration potential and prioritizing plans for restoration of pollinator 
habitat, based on those areas that will yield the greatest expected net 
benefits.

                    (b) Public Education Plan. The Strategy shall 
                include plans for expanding and coordinating public 
                education programs outlining steps individuals and 
                businesses can take to help address the loss of 
                pollinators. It shall also include recommendations for 
                a coordinated public education campaign aimed at 
                individuals, corporations, small businesses, schools, 
                libraries, and museums to significantly increase public 
                awareness of the importance of pollinators and the 
                steps that can be taken to protect them.
                    (c) Public-Private Partnerships. The Strategy shall 
                include recommendations for developing public-private 
                partnerships to build on Federal efforts to encourage 
                the protection of pollinators and increase the quality 
                and amount of habitat and forage for pollinators. In 
                developing this part of the Strategy, the Task Force 
                shall consult with external stakeholders, including 
                State, tribal, and local governments, farmers, 
                corporations, and nongovernmental organizations.
                    (d) Task Force member agencies shall report 
                regularly to the Task Force on their efforts to 
                implement section 3 of this memorandum.

                Sec. 3. Increasing and Improving Pollinator Habitat. 
                Unless otherwise specified, within 180 days of the date 
                of this memorandum:

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                    (a) Task Force member agencies shall develop and 
                provide to the Task Force plans to enhance pollinator 
                habitat, and subsequently implement, as appropriate, 
                such plans on their managed lands and facilities, 
                consistent with their missions and public safety. These 
                plans may include: facility landscaping, including 
                easements; land management; policies with respect to 
                road and other rights-of-way; educational gardens; use 
                of integrated vegetation and pest management; increased 
                native vegetation; and application of pollinator-
                friendly best management practices and seed mixes. Task 
                Force member agencies shall also review any new or 
                renewing land management contracts and grants for the 
                opportunity to include requirements for enhancing 
                pollinator habitat.
                    (b) Task Force member agencies shall evaluate 
                permit and management practices on power line, 
                pipeline, utility, and other rights-of-way and 
                easements, and, consistent with applicable law, make 
                any necessary and appropriate changes to enhance 
                pollinator habitat on Federal lands through the use of 
                integrated vegetation and pest management and 
                pollinator-friendly best management practices, and by 
                supplementing existing agreements and memoranda of 
                understanding with rights-of-way holders, where 
                appropriate, to establish and improve pollinator 
                habitat.
                    (c) Task Force member agencies shall incorporate 
                pollinator health as a component of all future 
                restoration and reclamation projects, as appropriate, 
                including all annual restoration plans.
                    (d) The Council on Environmental Quality and the 
                General Services Administration shall, within 90 days 
                of the date of this memorandum, revise their respective 
                guidance documents for designed landscapes and public 
                buildings to incorporate, as appropriate, pollinator-
                friendly practices into site landscape performance 
                requirements to create and maintain high quality 
                habitats for pollinators. Future landscaping projects 
                at all Federal facilities shall, to the maximum extent 
                appropriate, use plants beneficial to pollinators.
                    (e) The Departments of Agriculture and the Interior 
                shall, within 90 days of the date of this memorandum, 
                develop best management practices for executive 
                departments and agencies to enhance pollinator habitat 
                on Federal lands.
                    (f) The Departments of Agriculture and the Interior 
                shall establish a reserve of native seed mixes, 
                including pollinator-friendly plants, for use on post-
                fire rehabilitation projects and other restoration 
                activities.
                    (g) The Department of Agriculture shall, as 
                appropriate and consistent with applicable law, 
                substantially increase both the acreage and forage 
                value of pollinator habitat in the Department's 
                conservation programs, including the Conservation 
                Reserve Program, and provide technical assistance, 
                through collaboration with the land-grant university-
                based cooperative extension services, to executive 
                departments and agencies, State, local, and tribal 
                governments, and other entities and individuals, 
                including farmers and ranchers, in planting the most 
                suitable pollinator-friendly habitats.
                    (h) The Department of the Interior shall assist 
                States and State wildlife organizations, as 
                appropriate, in identifying and implementing projects 
                to conserve pollinators at risk of endangerment and 
                further pollinator conservation through the revision 
                and implementation of individual State Wildlife Action 
                Plans. The Department of the Interior shall, upon 
                request, provide technical support for these efforts, 
                and keep the Task Force apprised of such 
                collaborations.
                    (i) The Department of Transportation shall evaluate 
                its current guidance for grantees and informational 
                resources to identify opportunities to increase 
                pollinator habitat along roadways and implement 
                improvements, as appropriate. The Department of 
                Transportation shall work with State Departments of 
                Transportation and transportation associations to 
                promote pollinator-friendly practices and corridors. 
                The Department of Transportation shall

[[Page 35906]]

                evaluate opportunities to make railways, pipelines, and 
                transportation facilities that are privately owned and 
                operated aware of the need to increase pollinator 
                habitat.
                    (j) The Department of Defense shall, consistent 
                with law and the availability of appropriations, 
                support habitat restoration projects for pollinators, 
                and shall direct military service installations to use, 
                when possible, pollinator-friendly native landscaping 
                and minimize use of pesticides harmful to pollinators 
                through integrated vegetation and pest management 
                practices.
                    (k) The Army Corps of Engineers shall incorporate 
                conservation practices for pollinator habitat 
                improvement on the 12 million acres of lands and waters 
                at resource development projects across the country, as 
                appropriate.
                    (l) The Environmental Protection Agency shall 
                assess the effect of pesticides, including 
                neonicotinoids, on bee and other pollinator health and 
                take action, as appropriate, to protect pollinators; 
                engage State and tribal environmental, agricultural, 
                and wildlife agencies in the development of State and 
                tribal pollinator protection plans; encourage the 
                incorporation of pollinator protection and habitat 
                planting activities into green infrastructure and 
                Superfund projects; and expedite review of registration 
                applications for new products targeting pests harmful 
                to pollinators.
                    (m) Executive departments and agencies shall, as 
                appropriate, take immediate measures to support 
                pollinators during the 2014 growing season and 
                thereafter. These measures may include planting 
                pollinator-friendly vegetation and increasing flower 
                diversity in plantings, limiting mowing practices, and 
                avoiding the use of pesticides in sensitive pollinator 
                habitats through integrated vegetation and pest 
                management practices.

                Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) This memorandum shall 
                be implemented consistent with applicable law and 
                subject to the availability of appropriations.

                    (b) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed 
                to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to any agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (c) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed 
                to require the disclosure of confidential business 
                information or trade secrets, classified information, 
                law enforcement sensitive information, or other 
                information that must be protected in the interest of 
                national security or public safety.
                    (d) This memorandum is not intended to, and does 
                not, create any right or benefit, substantive or 
                procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any 
                party against the United States, its departments, 
                agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
                agents, or any other person.

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                    (e) The Secretary of Agriculture is hereby 
                authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in 
                the Federal Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, June 20, 2014

[FR Doc. 2014-14946
Filed 6-23-14; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3410-10