California says no to bee-killing pesticides on public lands

Wild bee populations are plummeting. Bumblebees in particular are migrating toward extinction. Consider the Franklin’s bumblebee, which was last seen in California in 1998. Meanwhile, beautiful patches of flowers and larger landscapes are often laced with bee-killing pesticides.

It’s rough out there for bees. 

Restricting bee-killing pesticides 

Yes, bees are hurting, but California (and other states) are starting to take action. 

In 2023, California became the 10th state (the list is now 11 thanks to Washington state) to restrict the sale of bee-killing neonicotinoids (“neonics”), a class of insecticides linked to bee deaths. 

And in 2024, the legislature passed a bill to require labeling of pesticides coated onto seeds. Seeds are a huge concern because pesticides on seeds are largely unregulated, and neonics on a seed spread throughout the growing plant and get into the soil and groundwater. The information required by this bill can help the state “get a handle on the use of these pesticides and take more steps to save our pollinators.” We’re urging Governor Newsom to sign it. 

No neonics on state lands 

In addition to these successes, the California Fish and Wildlife Commission finalized a rule this summer that will block the use of bee-killing neonic pesticides in state wildlife refuges and other land that the Dept. of Fish and Game manages. 

If ever there were a place that should be a safe haven for a bee, it’s a wildlife refuge. 

Along with tens of thousands of our members, we called for this action. And bravo to the American Bird Conservancy and Earthjustice for filing the petition that helped kick-start the state into action. 

Hardy Kern of the American Bird Conservancy put it well when he said that this will “serve as a model to the rest of the country.” 

Let’s hope so. There’s just not enough of the natural world in our world, and when the natural world is doused in bee-killing pesticides… well, we can do better than that. 

So thank you, California, for making the Golden State safer for bees.