Proposals to Protect Pollinators

Pollinators, photo by Kerry Beheler

Spring in Wisconsin is a busy time for pollinators.

What do you picture when you think about pollinators? Many people focus on bees, but bees are only a part of the pollinator picture! In addition to bees, other important pollinators include butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, even some species of bats and birds.

Many pollinator populations are imperiled and have been declining in recent years. Habitat loss, pollution, misuse of pesticides, disease, and changes in climate patterns are among the factors contributing to this decline.

Supporting the pollinators of Wisconsin can help promote a strong economy, support farmers and growers and aid environmental awareness and sustainability.

7 Pollinator Proposals in the 2025 Legislature

In the Wisconsin Legislature, Representative Lee Snodgrass is introducing a package of seven bills to protect pollinators in Wisconsin. Rep. Elijah Behnke, Rep. Karen DeSanto and Rep. Vincent Miresse, as well as Sen. Brad Pfaff and Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin are also listed on the Legislative Reference Bureau documents introducing these bills. This “pollinator package” may be familiar to you as a similar package was also introduced in 2021.

LRB 0551-1:

Requiring that state agencies give preference to native prairie and forage plants in situations where state agency directed planting occurs. This practice would benefit the growth of our local pollinators as well as the health and vibrancy of our state lands. This environmentally conscious act will continue to make Wisconsin a great environment for our many pollinators who require or prefer these familiar plants, flowers and greenery.

LRB 0555-1:

A Joint Resolution proclaiming June 2025 as Pollinator Awareness Month in Wisconsin.

LRB 0556-1:

Allowing a political subdivision (counties, towns, villages and cities) to regulate pesticides in order to protect pollinators and pollinator habitats. “Pollinator” is defined in the bill as an insect that pollinates flowers.

LRB 0557-1:

Prohibiting a person who sells plants at retail or provides plants from labeling or advertising the plant as being beneficial to pollinators if the plant has been treated with insecticides that contain warnings about pollinator hazards on their labels.

LRB 0564-1:

Establishing a special license plate program related to protecting pollinators. In addition to the required license fees, special group members who want to protect pollinators can make a voluntary payment of $25 to be issued a special license plate. The DOT would retain $23,700, or the actual initial costs of production, whichever is less, from the voluntary payment moneys for the initial costs of production of the special plates. The remainder of the voluntary payment amounts are deposited in the conservation fund to be used by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) for the purposes of the endangered resources program.

LRB 3042-1:

Prohibiting the WDNR from using neonicotinoids near any pollinator habitat located on lands maintained by the WDNR. Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides shown to harm pollinators and human health.

LRB 2869/1 and LRB 3238/1:

Designating the rusty patched bumble bee as the state native insect and requiring that the Wisconsin Blue Book include information about that designation. The rusty patched bumble bee was listed as a federally endangered species in 2017. Wisconsin’s Green Fire has previously voiced support for designating critical habitat for the rusty patched bumble bee in Wisconsin.

Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, photo by USFWS Midwest via Flickr

What’s going on with pollinators in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin is an important place for pollinators! 54 of our 72 counties are within the breeding area prioritized for monarch habitat. We are a stronghold for federally endangered insects like the rusty patched bumble bee and Karner blue butterfly. We are home to populations of 18 other at-risk pollinator species.

Wisconsin’s pollinators are in decline. The loss of pollinators threatens our ecosystems, agricultural crops and natural areas. Pollinators account for over $55 million in crop production in Wisconsin alone, and the agricultural economic and human food supply systems we depend on would be jeopardized without a thriving pollinator population.

People around Wisconsin are taking steps on private and public lands to support pollinators.

For example, in May 2025, the City of Eau Claire is launching a pollinator-friendly landscaping approach on 93 acres of public lands in the city. According to the City, “This initiative is designed to replace traditional landscaping with native plant species that support pollinators, such as bees and butterflies while reducing maintenance costs and promoting ecological health.”

In the Village of Mt. Horeb, WGF volunteer Kerry Beheler successfully proposed a natural landscaping pollinator habitat ordinance. See Village of Mount Horeb, WI Public Nuisances: Weeds and Grass, which includes “permitting the planting and maintenance of planned natural landscaping using native plants to enhance pollinator habitat.” Similar ordinances related to native plantings and pollinators exist in Green Bay (link here) and Sun Prairie (link here), for example.

Monarch caterpillar, photo by Kerry Beheler

Steps you can take personally to help pollinators:

• Contact your legislators and local officials to urge their support for protecting pollinators.
  • Find contact information for your legislators here. Your county and city/town will also have a public website with ways to reach out to your local elected officials on county boards, city councils, town boards, or other decision makers.
• Plant native species of flowers, forbs, trees, and shrubs to support pollinators.
  • See the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin’s “5 Steps to Planting a Pollinator Garden in Wisconsin“
• Speak up locally with your town or city to encourage native plantings and practices that support pollinators
  • See examples and information from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).
• Volunteer as a citizen scientist on pollinator projects
  • Monitor Karner Blue Butterflies through the WDNR by identifying butterflies and their habitat
• Learn and use best management practices for protecting pollinators
  • See resources from the DATCP Pollinator Protection Plan for beekeepers, gardeners, and farmers.

Additional resources for people who want support pollinators:

• Wisconsin Pollinators – Bees, butterflies, and their conservation – UW–Madison
• Saving Wisconsin’s Native Pollinators | | Wisconsin DNR
• Prairie Strips Project – SOIL FERTILITY & NUTRIENT CYCLING LAB
• Pollinator Conservation Program | Xerces Society
• Native Pollinators – Center for Biological Diversity

Contact us with your questions or thoughts about our work.

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Compass plant flower with pollinator, Havenwoods State Forest, Milwaukee by Don Behm