NOTICE: The NM Legislative session moves very quickly especially in its final weeks and we have just been informed that the NM POLLINATOR PROTECTION PLAN will be heard in the Senate Rules Committee tomorrow- Wednesday, March 1, 2023 starting at 8:30 am. There are additional topics on the Senate Rules Committee list for this scheduled meeting so the NM PPP may be heard at any time in the line-up. For reference: The NM POLLINATOR PROTECTION PLAN MEMORIAL is an initiative that encourages education and outreach for supporting healthy pollinator stewardship. If you are interested in joining the NMBKA PPP Committee Chair and Interim President at the Santa Fe Roundhouse tomorrow morning to sit in on the hearing and to share your thoughts with the committee- we will be meeting in room 321 at 8:15am. You can enter at any time up until the meeting finishes as long as there is space. Or, you can also join via zoom and also sign up to make a statement. Please visit this link <https://nmbeekeepers.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ad273a1c86937b09e594d10af&id=edbe2bddac&e=b5d27b6976> which has location, timing, and zoom link information or see below: **For public participation please click on the link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81944191844<https://nmbeekeepers.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ad273a1c86937b09e594d10af&id=318744245d&e=b5d27b6976> or via telephone at 1 669 900 9128, meeting ID: 819 4419 1844 To provide written comments or to register to speak email SRC.zoom@nmlegis.gov<mailto:SRC.zoom@nmlegis.gov>. Refer to www.nmlegis.gov<https://nmbeekeepers.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ad273a1c86937b09e594d10af&id=e8db8badef&e=b5d27b6976> "What's Happening" for the Senate Rules Committee Procedures. Talking Points: Senate Memorial 43, 2023 1) State Pollinator Protection Plans (PPPs), are in response to a 2014 Presidential Memorandum requesting that each state create a PPP 2) PPPs establish best management practices for pesticide applicators, farmers, ranchers, landowners and beekeepers in a collaborative and voluntary effort to protect pollinators. This is done through education, communication and outreach. 3) All stakeholders are encouraged to be involved with creating state PPPs, and have been consulted to create NMBKA’s PPP 4) Senate Memorial 43 requests that NMDA establish a working group to create and disseminate education materials based on NMBKA’s PPP, and to collect data on the number of hives and beekeepers in the state of NM a) Data collection is voluntary b) Data aids in future funding efforts 5) PPPs are working documents that can be updated as needed: when new evidence comes out, new problems or solutions arise, etc. 6) PPPs are tailored to each state’s unique climates, agricultural landscapes and needs 7) PPPs are not regulatory Buzz Words:: Collaborative, Inclusive, Voluntary, Educational Outreach Rebuttals: * Where will financing and/or working hours for NMDA come from to complete these tasks? {Brad Lewis} * If this isn’t regulatory (enforceable) how will it aid in protecting pollinators? When stakeholders have the opportunity to be involved in the decision making process, and/or have the ability to opt into a plan to protect pollinators, we create positive relationships and there is generally more support and collaboration. This is evidenced by the input we have received from Alan Feuer of Preventive Pest Control, NMBKA being asked to give a talk on protecting pollinators at the 2022 NM Pest Management Association (applicators received CEUs for attending), and input from NMDA, NMSU Ag Center, the EPA, and local farmers and landowners. * Education and advocacy increase awareness of our state’s need to protect both native pollinators and managed honey bee colonies. Agricultural yields are increased when pollinatorsare more abundant: “More than 3,500 species of native bees help increase crop yields. Some scientists estimate that one out of every three bites of food we eat exists because of animal pollinators like bees, butterflies and moths, birds and bats, and beetles and other insects.” -USDA (https://www.usda.gov/peoples-garden/pollinators<https://nmbeekeepers.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ad273a1c86937b09e594d10af&id=406c8bdf95&e=b5d27b6976>) You can also text Amy Owen- NMBKA PPP Chair at 575.496.0518 or Melanie Kirby- NMBKA Interim President at 505.901.2102 should you have any questions. Thank you- Melanie Kirby NMBKA Interim President [https://mcusercontent.com/ad273a1c86937b09e594d10af/images/c187be16-312c-344...] This email was sent to ziaqueenbees@hotmail.com<mailto:ziaqueenbees@hotmail.com> why did I get this?<https://nmbeekeepers.us10.list-manage.com/about?u=ad273a1c86937b09e594d10af&id=9a1639325c&e=b5d27b6976&c=a8eea6f990> unsubscribe from this list<https://nmbeekeepers.us10.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=ad273a1c86937b09e594d10af&id=9a1639325c&e=b5d27b6976&c=a8eea6f990> update subscription preferences<https://nmbeekeepers.us10.list-manage.com/profile?u=ad273a1c86937b09e594d10af&id=9a1639325c&e=b5d27b6976&c=a8eea6f990> New Mexico Beekeepers Association · PO Box 21615 · Albuquerque, NM 87154-21615 · USA [Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp]<http://www.mailchimp.com/email-referral/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=referral_marketing&aid=ad273a1c86937b09e594d10af&afl=1>