I’m sure others have been following this more closely than I have, but it came to my attention that there has been an effort to pass legislation in New York State which would ban the use of neonicotinoid “neonic" pesticides in NYS.
A prior attempt to pass legislation stalled in 2022, but it is being proposed again for the 2023 legislative session. I thought I would share some information here about it, as I understand it: Original 2021-2022 Assembly Bill:https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/a7429/amendment/a (Passed) Original 2021-2022 Senate Bill: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/s699/amendment/d (Stalled in Committee) Revised 2023-2024 Assembly Bill: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/A3226 (Active in Committee) Revised 2023-2024 Senate Bill: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S1856 (Active in Committee) In Sum: The legislation enacts the birds and bees protection act; prohibits the sale of certain pesticides or use of seeds coated with such pesticides; requires the department of environmental conservation to review the latest scientific information concerning certain pesticide active ingredients. Additional pertinent links: https://abcbirds.org/neonics https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-0582-x https://www.audubon.org/magazine/spring-2017/the-same-pesticides-linked-bee-declines-might https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/widely-used-pesticide-makes-birds-lose-weight https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/neonic-nation-is-widespread-pesticide-use-connected-to-grassland-bird-declines/ https://www.nrdc.org/stories/neonicotinoids-101-effects-humans-and-bees https://xerces.org/publications/scientific-reports/how-neonicotinoids-can-kill-bees Those who may not have seen the documentary The Messenger, it is well worth watching. https://songbirdsos.com/ In the documentary The Messenger they touch on some of the evidence being collected that links the damaging use of neonicotinoid pesticides, among many other detriments, which are contributing to the decline in global bird populations. I realize it is not available to stream for free, or at least nowhere I could easily find. Hope this helps in better understanding the issues here. Sincerely, Chris T-H -- Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes — Field Applications Engineer K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA Work: +1 607-254-2418 Mobile: +1 607-351-5740 FAX: +1 607-254-1132 https://bioacoustics.cornell.edu -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
