The newly formed National Honey Bee Advisory Board (NHBAB) represents jointly the ABF and the AHPA. We had the pleasure of touring the White House Beehive as guests of Charlie Brandts (White House staff carpenter and beekeeper) on our trip to Washington on June 2, 2009.
During our week of June, the NHBAB met with: Bayer Crop Science, lead pesticide policy officials at both EPA and USDA, and the key pesticide staffers at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
During our short time on the job, we have made useful contacts in the key organizations. The wheels and levers, which control the machinery in Washington, are a complex aparatus. In all these seemingly faceless organizations are real people, hard working people who want to make a difference. We have had the opportunity to get to know some of these faces behind these large organizations, businesses and bureaucracies.
Pesticide policy in the United States needs to better protect pollinators. In an effort to make this happen, the NHBAB has been engaged in making contacts, establishing a dialogue in an effort to define the issues most in need of change. Already, EPA has agreed to improve incident reporting for honey bees,
developing a special direct portal on the Internet for beekeepers.
Reporting bee kills is a crucial first step for understanding why, when and how problems are occurring. By reporting pesticide kills, you will be helping to assemble a data base which will help to better indentify recurring misuses of chemicals. We would like to strongly encourage all beekeepers to help out by reporting all suspected pesticide kills. EPA’s lead person may be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Progress is being made by keeping the issue of pollinator protection public. Through proper pesticide use and improved toxicity research, we believe we can improve the ‘climate” for the essential pollinators of our country.

Location, location, location...Finally honey bees have arrived.