2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
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2023 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 59
July 13, 2023 - Introduced by Senators PFAFF, AGARD, CARPENTER, BALLWEG,
HESSELBEIN, LARSON, ROYS and SPREITZER, cosponsored by Representatives
SNODGRASS, CONSIDINE, C. ANDERSON, J. ANDERSON, ANDRACA, CABRERA,
BALDEH, BEHNKE, CONLEY, EMERSON, HAYWOOD, HONG, JACOBSON, JOERS,
MOORE OMOKUNDE, OHNSTAD, ORTIZ-VELEZ, PALMERI, RATCLIFF, SCHUTT,
SHANKLAND, SHELTON, SINICKI, STUBBS, SUBECK and VINING. Referred to
Committee on Senate Organization.
1 Relating to: designating June 2023 as Pollinator Awareness Month in Wisconsin.
2 Whereas, bees, butterflies, and other pollinator species have a critically
3 important role in agriculture in the United States and help to produce a healthy and
4 affordable food supply and sustain ecosystem health; and
5 Whereas, pollinators are responsible for the reproduction of 90 percent of the
6 world's wild plant species by providing them with a healthy habitat rich in a variety
7 of native plants that are free or nearly free of pesticides; and
8 Whereas, thanks to the more than 400 species of native pollinators in
9 Wisconsin, along with honeybees, we have very diverse dietary choices rich in fruits,
10 nuts, and vegetables; and
11 Whereas, pollinators help to produce an estimated one out of every three bites
12 of food consumed in the United States and help reproduce at least 80 percent of
13 flowering plants; and
14 Whereas, commodities produced in partnership with animal pollinators
15 generate $6.5 million in annual production, with domestic honeybees alone
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1 pollinating an estimated $14.6 billion worth of crops in the United States each year
2 produced on more than two million acres; and
3 Whereas, there are approximately 20,000 bee species in the world, 3,600 in the
4 United States, and 400 in Wisconsin; and
5 Whereas, in Wisconsin, pollinator-dependent crops are harvested on over
6 100,800 acres, with apple, cranberry, cherry, green bean, and pickling cucumber
7 crops accounting for over $230 million in annual production; and
8 Whereas, bees and other pollinators have experienced population declines due
9 to a combination of habitat loss, use of pesticides, and the spread of pests and
10 diseases; and
11 Whereas, residents of Wisconsin have the opportunity to support bees and other
12 pollinators on both public and private land; and
13 Whereas, the State of Wisconsin seeks to ensure a healthy environment and
14 create policies that sustain our environment; and
15 Whereas, supporting native honeybees and other pollinators promotes
16 environmental awareness, sustainability, and increases interactions among
17 community stewards such as commercial and backyard beekeepers, farmers,
18 children, educators, Master Gardeners, plant nurseries, municipalities,
19 neighborhoods, and garden clubs and suppliers; and
20 Whereas, the ideal pollinator-friendly habitat provides diverse and abundant
21 nectar and pollen from plants blooming in succession throughout the growing
22 season; provides undisturbed spaces such as leaf and brush piles, un-mowed fields
23 or field margins, and fallen trees and other dead wood for nesting and overwintering
24 for wild pollinators; provides water for drinking, nest-building, cooling, diluting
25 stored honey, and butterfly puddling; is pesticide-free or has pesticide use carried
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1 out with the least ill effects possible on pollinators; is comprised of mostly, if not all,
2 native species of annual and perennial flowering plants, grasses, vines, shrubs, and
3 trees in landscapes because many wild pollinators prefer or depend on the native
4 plants with which they coadapted; includes, where possible, designated pollinator
5 zones in public spaces with signage to educate the public and build awareness; and
6 provides for safe and humane removal of honeybees when required; and
7 Whereas, No Mow May, a municipal effort encouraging homeowners to reduce
8 their mowing intensity to provide forage for native pollinators, began in Appleton in
9 2020 and has expanded throughout Fox Cities municipalities to include the
10 communities of Appleton, Fox Crossing, Oshkosh, De Pere, Fort Atkinson, and
11 Hortonville; and
12 Whereas, a peer-reviewed scientific study of the effects of No Mow May and the
13 community-wide delay in early May lawn care, specifically mowing early growth
14 flowering plants, revealed that these efforts precipitated a five-fold increase in bee
15 species prevalence and a three-fold increase in bee species diversity; and
16 Whereas, possible declines in the health and population of pollinators pose
17 what could be a significant threat to global food webs, the integrity of biodiversity,
18 and human health; and
19 Whereas, it is in the strong economic interest of agricultural producers and
20 consumers in Wisconsin to help ensure a healthy and sustainable pollinator
21 population; now, therefore, be it
22 Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the Wisconsin
23 Legislature designates June 2023 as Pollinator Awareness Month in Wisconsin.
24 (END)