Save Oregon’s Bees

Bees play a crucial role in our lives. Not just in our gardens, and in agriculture, but throughout nature. Ninety percent of flowering plants need animal pollinators. Without them, flowering plants will sharply decline, causing major disruptions to our ecosystems’ delicate balance. But as our society uses more pesticides, their populations are plummeting. This is especially true for bees.

Bees have gone missing

The American bumblebee once had a huge range, buzzing from flower to flower in much of North America — from Pennsylvania to Wyoming, and Texas to North Dakota. While still found in its southern range, the American bumblebee has gone missing across its northernmost and westernmost range. How bad is the situation? That’s the question in front of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is delayed in evaluating whether this bee warrants protections under the Endangered Species Act.

Another native bee that once covered the Midwest and beyond, the rusty-patched bumblebee, is already on the endangered species list. It has disappeared across 87% of its range. In Oregon, the Western bumblebee and Franklin’s Bumblebee are following similar sinking trajectories. 

In total, one in four bumblebee species is considered vulnerable to extinction.

Use of a 1990’s pesticide has exploded 

Out of around 4,000 native bee species in the U.S, there are more than 700 native to Oregon. With many on decline, scientists are probing to understand what’s happening. The answers? Disease, habitat loss and pesticides, in particular one that was designed to kill insects.

A class of insecticides called neonicotinoids (neonics) was introduced in the 1990’s, and usage soared in the 2000’s due to the practice of coating the insecticide onto seeds. The EPA estimates that between 70-80% of corn, soybeans and cotton seeds are treated with the bee-killing pesticide. Wheat and other types of seeds are coated or “treated,” too.

But that isn’t the only way this toxic insecticide is applied. In 2013, neonics were sprayed on flowering linden trees and resulted in the largest native bee kill ever recorded. Despite this event, this class of insecticides is still widely available for everyday consumers to purchase and use. 

And when death isn’t immediate, non-lethal exposure is causing nature’s very best pollinators to decline. Baby bumblebee brains are damaged, bees can’t navigate properly, reproduction is impaired and much more.

Neonics don’t stay put

These insecticides are systemic, meaning they’re absorbed by plants through their roots when applied to soil or coated onto seeds. As the plant grows, it takes in the insecticide, making its nectar, pollen, leaves, stems and fruit toxic to insects. However, most of the chemical doesn’t end up in the plant — researchers found that about 5% of neonics stay on the plant. The rest, nearly 95 percent, remains in the surrounding soil. 

The insecticide can rub off coated seeds during planting, creating a cloud of insecticide dust. Wind can blow the dust cloud onto nearby bee habitat. Additionally, the insecticide leaches off a coated seed and builds up in the soil and nearby waterways. 

Even when the neonics do stay on the plant, the chemical is systemic, which means it is taken up into every fiber — its stem, leaves, flowers, pollen and fruit — making the entire plant a threat to bees.

Birds are harmed, too 

Neonics are insecticides, which is to say that insects are the intended targets. But it’s not just insects that are harmed. Research found that a single neonic-coated corn seed can kill a songbird. 

Additionally, a study of white-tail deer spleens in Minnesota showed a marked increase in neonic contamination, and a South Dakota research project connected neonics with fawn mortalities. More research is needed to determine the harms caused to deer and the predators that eat deer (including us).

Neonics likely do more harm than good 

One might assume that a calculation has happened, that somebody looked hard at the numbers to weigh the threats to bees, to other wildlife and to humans, against the need to feed a hungry nation.

That hasn’t happened and if it were to, odds are that the threats to bees outweigh the anticipated benefits. Why? A compilation of research found a limited-at-best increase in crop yields — for example, only 12% of corn trials showed an increase in production with neonics. Results like these fail to offset the increased costs and harm of treated seeds.

Oregon can act to help save bees 

Despite Oregonians showing their love for the bees, during the 2025 legislative session, our lawmakers failed to act to restrict the everyday consumer sale and use of neonics by adding them to the state’s “restricted use” pesticide list. But we’re not giving up. 

We’re doubling down on our efforts and focusing our attention to build a stronger coalition, connect with a broader audience and generate a louder buzz of grassroots support to ensure that only licensed pesticide applicators can use neonics. 

This would be a huge step toward reducing their prevalence in backyards, gardens, and other areas where bees forage. It has worked in 12 other states, including Maine, New Jersey, California and most recently Washington State.

Eugene was the first city in the nation to ban neonics on city property, and Oregon has already taken strides to protect pollinators, including limiting neonics on flowering Linden trees and creating programs like the Oregon Bee Project. Now is the time to build on that momentum and take bold action to save the bees.

Together, we can save the bees

Protecting pollinators isn’t just about saving bees; it’s about safeguarding Oregon’s ecosystems, agriculture and environmental legacy. Join us in fighting for a future where bees thrive and our natural world flourishes.

Let’s work together to make Oregon a leader in pollinator protection.