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Save Our Pollinators And Keep America's Premier Bee Research Lab Open

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The USDA helped trace a major honeybee die-off to viruses spread by resistant mites. Now the lab behind that work could be shut down.

Beekeeper wearing a veil and gloves examines a hive box glowing in warm evening light.

Honeybees support food production across the United States, yet beekeepers have faced severe colony losses. During a recent wave of deaths, researchers at the USDA’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center helped identify a likely cause: viruses spread by pesticide-resistant mites1. That work gave struggling beekeepers critical information at a moment of crisis.

A Vital Research Center Is At Risk

Now the USDA plans to close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center as part of a broader reorganization2. The agency has described the campus as costly to maintain and says work can be distributed elsewhere, but reporting shows that many scientists and stakeholders fear serious disruption to research continuity2.

What Could Be Lost

Beltsville is not just another federal site. It has long been a pillar of American agricultural research, and federal bee work in the Washington area dates back to the nineteenth century, with the bee lab based at Beltsville since 19391. The center supports pollinator science along with broader agricultural work that may not transfer cleanly if teams and facilities are split apart4.

Supporters also warn that relocation can drive scientists out of public service, disrupt long-running field studies, and put years of data at risk2. Local reporting shows the closure is part of a sweeping USDA restructuring that would move major functions away from the Washington area3.

Why This Matters Now

Beekeepers already face disease pressure, unstable colonies, and rising costs1. This is the wrong time to weaken one of the nation’s most important sources of federal pollinator research and emergency scientific support.

Sign the petition and urge the USDA to keep the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center open and protect the research that pollinators and farmers depend on.

More on this issue:

  1. Macy Byars, KCUR / Harvest Public Media (6 April 2026), "Soon after massive honeybee deaths, Trump moves to close the nation's premier bee lab."
  2. Adam Willis, The Baltimore Banner (23 September 2025), "USDA considers closing Beltsville Agricultural Research Center."
  3. Owen Kelley, Greenbelt News Review (24 July 2025), "USDA to Close BARC as Part of Complete Reorganization."
  4. Jeffrey Mervis, Science (25 July 2025), "USDA reorganization will cut agricultural and forest research."

The Petition

To the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture,

I am writing to urge you to keep the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center open and preserve its bee research programs.

At a time when beekeepers across the country have faced devastating colony losses, Beltsville researchers helped identify a likely cause behind a major wave of honeybee deaths. That kind of rapid federal science matters. It helps beekeepers respond, protects pollinators, and supports the farms and food systems that depend on them.

Pollinators are central to American agriculture. When bee health declines, the effects do not stop at the hive. Crop production, farm stability, and broader ecosystems all feel the strain. This is why the nation needs strong public research infrastructure dedicated to bee health and agricultural resilience.

Beltsville is not simply an aging campus. It is one of the USDA’s most important research centers, with a long history of agricultural and pollinator science. If this facility is closed, ongoing studies may be interrupted, data may be lost, and experienced scientists may leave public service rather than relocate. Dividing this work among other facilities may sound practical, but it risks breaking apart specialized teams and weakening research that has taken decades to build.

Humanity and compassion should guide this decision. Protecting pollinators means protecting living systems that people rely on every day for food and environmental health. It also means respecting the farmers, beekeepers, and researchers who work to keep those systems intact.

I urge you to halt plans to close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, retain its scientific workforce, preserve its bee research capacity, and commit to maintaining this essential public resource for the future. The country cannot afford to weaken pollinator science at such a critical moment.

These actions will ensure a better future for all.

Sincerely,

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