2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-0555/1
MCP:skw
May 30, 2025 - Introduced by Representatives Snodgrass, Behnke, DeSanto, Miresse, Andraca, Arney, Billings, Clancy, Cruz, DeSmidt, Doyle, Fitzgerald, J. Jacobson, Joers, Johnson, Madison, Mayadev, Moore Omokunde, Palmeri, Rivera-Wagner, Roe, Sinicki, Stubbs, Subeck, Tenorio, Udell and Vining, cosponsored by Senators Pfaff, Habush Sinykin, Carpenter, Drake, Hesselbein, Larson, Ratcliff, Roys, Smith, Spreitzer, Wall, Wanggaard and Wirch. Referred to Committee on Rules.
AJR62,1,1
1Relating to: designating June 2025 as Pollinator Awareness Month in Wisconsin. AJR62,1,42Whereas, bees, butterflies, and other pollinator species have a critically 3important role in agriculture in the United States and help to produce a healthy 4and affordable food supply and sustain ecosystem health; and AJR62,1,75Whereas, pollinators are responsible for the reproduction of 90 percent of the 6world’s wild plant species by providing them with a healthy habitat rich in a variety 7of native plants that are free or nearly free of pesticides; and AJR62,1,108Whereas, thanks to the more than 400 species of native pollinators in 9Wisconsin, along with honeybees, we have very diverse dietary choices rich in 10fruits, nuts, and vegetables; and AJR62,1,1311Whereas, pollinators help to produce an estimated one out of every three bites 12of food consumed in the United States and help reproduce at least 80 percent of 13flowering plants; and AJR62,2,314Whereas, commodities produced in partnership with animal pollinators
1generate $6.5 million in annual production, with domestic honeybees alone 2pollinating an estimated $14.6 billion worth of crops in the United States each year 3produced on more than two million acres; and AJR62,2,54Whereas, there are approximately 20,000 bee species in the world, 3,600 in the 5United States, and 400 in Wisconsin; and AJR62,2,86Whereas, in Wisconsin, pollinator-dependent crops are harvested on over 7100,800 acres, with apple, cranberry, cherry, green bean, and pickling cucumber 8crops accounting for over $230 million in annual production; and AJR62,2,119Whereas, bees and other pollinators have experienced population declines due 10to a combination of habitat loss, use of pesticides, and the spread of pests and 11diseases; and AJR62,2,1312Whereas, residents of Wisconsin have the opportunity to support bees and 13other pollinators on both public and private land; and AJR62,2,1514Whereas, the State of Wisconsin seeks to ensure a healthy environment and 15create policies that sustain our environment; and AJR62,2,2016Whereas, supporting native honeybees and other pollinators promotes 17environmental awareness, sustainability, and increased interactions among 18community stewards such as commercial and backyard beekeepers, farmers, 19children, educators, Master Gardeners, plant nurseries, municipalities, 20neighborhoods, and garden clubs and suppliers; and AJR62,3,1021Whereas, the ideal pollinator-friendly habitat provides diverse and abundant 22nectar and pollen from plants blooming in succession throughout the growing 23season; provides undisturbed spaces such as leaf and brush piles, un-mowed fields
1or field margins, and fallen trees and other dead wood for nesting and 2overwintering for wild pollinators; provides water for drinking, nest-building, 3cooling, diluting stored honey, and butterfly puddling; is pesticide-free or has 4pesticide use carried out with the least ill effects possible on pollinators; is 5comprised of mostly, if not all, native species of annual and perennial flowering 6plants, grasses, vines, shrubs, and trees in landscapes because many wild 7pollinators prefer or depend on the native plants with which they coadapted; 8includes, where possible, designated pollinator zones in public spaces with signage 9to educate the public and build awareness; and provides for safe and humane 10removal of honeybees when required; and AJR62,3,1511Whereas, No Mow May, a municipal effort encouraging homeowners to reduce 12their mowing intensity to provide forage for native pollinators, began in Appleton in 132020 and has expanded throughout Fox Cities municipalities to include the 14communities of Appleton, Fox Crossing, Oshkosh, De Pere, Fort Atkinson, and 15Hortonville; and AJR62,3,1916Whereas, a peer-reviewed scientific study of the effects of No Mow May and 17the community-wide delay in early May lawn care, specifically mowing early growth 18flowering plants, revealed that these efforts precipitated a five-fold increase in bee 19species prevalence and a three-fold increase in bee species diversity; and AJR62,3,2220Whereas, possible declines in the health and population of pollinators pose 21what could be a significant threat to global food webs, the integrity of biodiversity, 22and human health; and AJR62,4,223Whereas, it is in the strong economic interest of agricultural producers and
1consumers in Wisconsin to help ensure a healthy and sustainable pollinator 2population; now, therefore, be it AJR62,4,43Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the Wisconsin 4Legislature designates June 2025 as Pollinator Awareness Month in Wisconsin.