FRANKFORT, Ky. - U.S. beekeepers have reported losing 44 percent of their colonies over the last year, according to a new annual report.

Tiffany Finck-Haynes, food futures campaigner for the group Friends of the Earth, says that's too high to be sustainable for agriculture. She blames the problem on climate change, loss of habitat and pesticides.

Finck-Haynes says earlier this year, Maryland became the first state to pass a bill to eliminate the consumer use of popular pesticides containing neonicotinoids, but a federal response is needed.

"We're seeing a lot of action at the local and state level to restrict the use of pesticides," says Finck-Haynes. "Hopefully, that will put some much needed pressure on EPA, the USDA and our members of Congress to take significant action."

Finck-Haynes says regulatory agencies are letting the pesticide industry pull the wool over their eyes instead of seeking solutions.

The report is a collaboration between the Bee Informed Partnership, the Apiary Inspectors of America and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In Kentucky, most of the beekeepers are hobbyists, with less than 50 hives.

Rick Sutton, owner of Sutton Honey Farms in Lancaster, is the largest of the state's handful of commercial beekeepers. He's been raising bees for 39 years and thinks federal action would help, because pesticides are reducing what bees can eat.

"You get so much corn being planted now, places you never saw corn years ago," says Sutton. "That you have less diversification of plants, more of a monoculture, and that hasn't helped any."

Sutton says there is virtually no colony collapse in the eastern part of the state, where much of the land is forest.

Somerset's Ray Tucker, president of the Kentucky State Beekeepers Association, believes with government support small farmers in that region could create new business opportunities, by raising bees and then selling them on the commercial pollination market.

"Bees are as much a valuable product as honey, and raising queens, we have to go overseas to find pure wax to raise queens," explains Tucker. "We have healthy forests that could produce healthy bees."

He adds it also means income for a region hit hard by shifting economic times.




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"The Creature from the Black Lagoon" is a scary story told around Halloween, but conservationists say the real danger in Georgia's swamps is how humans mistreat the wetlands.

The group Defenders of Wildlife is launching its "Real Scary Movies" campaign to show how pollution, overuse and habitat loss are the real danger to places such as the iconic Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Christian Hunt, a senior federal lands policy analyst for Defenders of Wildlife, said while the swamp's alligators, snakes and other creatures can be scary, humans remain the wetland's biggest threat.

"The true threat is how people manage wetlands. It's through pollution, mining, or the draining and conversion of wetlands and swamps. The only horror, the only creature, if you will, is our treatment of the places we vilify," he said.

October 13 through 19 is also National Wildlife Refuge Week, a time to visit America's network of lands and waters that conserve and protect our wildlife heritage. During this time, entrance fees to many refuges will be waived.

The Okefenokee refuge is home to hundreds of species, many listed as threatened or endangered. Hunt said nearby operations such as power plants and other industries can cause damage through pollution, mining, or draining swamps.

"Frankly, many people are scared of wilderness," he explained. "They're scared of the wild, and they create villains, such as, say, the creature of the Black Lagoon, to rationalize that fear."

Hunt added groups such as Defenders of Wildlife are working to preserve refuges like the Okefenokee, and says if those lands are damaged or destroyed, they might be gone for good.

"They protect some of the last vestiges of wilderness, particularly in the Southeast. It's hard to quantify what would be lost if we were to lose these places, but the loss would certainly be immense," he contended.

Indiana is considering a limited bobcat trapping season and the Department of Natural Resources is seeking public input on the proposal.

The plan would allow trapping in about 40 southern Indiana counties starting in November 2025, with a statewide quota of 250 bobcats. Trappers would have a one-bobcat bag limit and be required to purchase a special bobcat license.

Geriann Albers, furbearer and turkey program leader for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, said the proposal includes strict monitoring, and requires trappers to report their catches within 24 hours.

"We do have a population model for bobcats," Albers explained. "We're very confident with that 250 quota that it will not negatively impact bobcat populations. What that 250 was set on was the population model we have that shows that's a sustainable level of harvest."

Opponents argued even a limited season could threaten bobcat populations. Environmental groups, including the Humane Society, said the DNR's population model may not fully account for the bobcat's slow reproductive rate and threats from habitat loss. They contended reintroducing trapping could undermine years of conservation work that helped the species recover in Indiana.

Albers noted the DNR invited public feedback on the proposal.

"On that rule-making docket page the comment button is available for people to submit comments now," Albers pointed out. "That went up pretty quickly after the meeting but the first round of comments, we haven't scheduled yet because that usually coincides with when we do a public hearing."

A public hearing, tentatively set for November, will offer both in-person and virtual participation options. The DNR said updates will be posted on its website.


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Environmental groups are slamming a Biden administration effort to remove federal protections for the endangered gray wolf.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just appealed a 2022 court decision reinstating protections for the gray wolf under the Endangered Species Act; protections lost in the Trump era.

Derek Goldman, Northern Rockies senior field representative for the nonprofit Endangered Species Coalition, said federal officials are making contradictory moves.

"On one hand, they said earlier this summer that they want to write a national recovery plan. But then they appealed to reinstate the Trump wolf delisting rule, which would presumably mean they don't have to do a recovery plan," Goldman pointed out. "This is kind of sending a mixed message here."

In the suit, Justice Department attorneys argued the gray wolf is no longer in danger of extinction. The National Rifle Association and hunting and livestock groups also supported the Trump-era policy, which would send protections back to the states.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said seven confirmed packs of gray wolves have made their way down from Oregon. Goldman acknowledged the wolves enjoy state-level protections but have a long way to go.

"They certainly haven't recovered throughout all the suitable habitat that's in California, like the Sierra Nevada mountain range," Goldman noted. "But without the resources provided by the Endangered Species Act, they won't fully recover."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service set a deadline of December 2025 to produce a new federal gray wolf recovery plan.