56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2023

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO CONVENE A WORKING GROUP TO CONSIDER ACCEPTANCE OF A POLLINATOR PROTECTION PLAN AS PROPOSED BY THE NEW MEXICO BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION AND ASSESS WAYS TO PROTECT POLLINATORS THROUGH COMMUNITY EDUCATION, OUTREACH AND DATA COLLECTION.

WHEREAS, pollinators are an integral part of agriculture and have a direct effect on New Mexico's agricultural economy; and

WHEREAS, urban beekeeping continues to increase in popularity in New Mexico and elsewhere; and

WHEREAS, managed bees are an integral part of urban garden success; and

WHEREAS, poor bee husbandry poses an increased risk to bees managed for commercial and noncommercial purposes; and

WHEREAS, honey bee disease spread is impossible to track without data collection and reporting; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico boasts approximately two thousand diverse pollinator species, including three hundred species of butterflies and approximately one thousand four hundred species of bees; and

WHEREAS, increasing habitat loss, pesticide use, diseases, invasive species, drought and climate change are all impacting New Mexico pollinators; and

WHEREAS, the severity of drought conditions due to rising temperatures is of particular concern; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico growers rely on both managed and feral populations of pollinators, honey bees being the most common, but of concern are studies showing that many pollinating insect populations are in decline; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico is home to many known species of pollinators due to numerous specialized habitats and ecosystems, yet New Mexico's high elevation and semi-arid landscapes make it a challenging region for human, animal and plant life;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico department of agriculture be requested to convene a working group to consider acceptance of a pollinator protection plan as proposed by the New Mexico beekeepers association and assess ways to protect pollinators through community education, outreach and data collection; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group be composed of representatives of the New Mexico department of agriculture, the New Mexico food and agriculture policy council and the New Mexico beekeepers association; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group be requested to develop recommendations for assessing the number of urban and rural beekeepers across the state to determine the number of hives in support of establishing an outreach and educational program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group be requested to develop recommendations for continual assessment of the number of urban and rural beekeepers across the state and to address numbers of hives in support of establishing an outreach, data gathering and educational program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group be requested to create educational material based on the pollinator protection plan regarding best practices for farmers, land stewards, pesticide applicators and beekeepers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group be requested to report its recommendations to the appropriate interim legislative committees dealing with conservation and environmental issues by October 1, 2023; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the director of the New Mexico department of agriculture, the governing board chair of the New Mexico food and agriculture council and the secretary of the New Mexico beekeepers association.