Saturday, September 13, 2025 at 7:52:07 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Subject: Closing of USDA laboratories
Date: Thursday, August 7, 2025 at 11:16:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Michael Lesser
To: reorganization@usda.gov
CC: Zachary Lamas, maryellen.nhba@gmail.com

To whom it may concern. The reorganiza2on and closing of USDA laboratories is
not in the best interests of serving the US agricultural community writ large as it
relates to research, education and outreach, and will affect food crop produc2on.
The USDA has strategically centralized resources in regional laboratories to
facilitate scientific discovery and then transfer those discoveries to applicable
solutions; it is the perfect blend of basic research serving applied science. This is
especially true for apiculture, where my current interests are concentrated. Right
now, we are in a global crisis as it relates to the survival of insect pollinators, both
honey bees and native bees. In particular, US commercial apiaries have
experienced unprecedented losses which will affect the productivity of multiple
food crops. There are four USDA-ARS bee research laboratories placed regionally
around the country. This arrangement serves the best interest of both
commercial and hobbyist beekeepers by understanding regional-specific
variations in honey bee biology and honey production. In particular, the proposal
to close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland is of grave concern.
This laboratory conducts essential research on honey bee biology and diseases.
Most recently, this laboratory provided important diagnostic information on
honey bee hive collapses in California during the annual almond pollination
season. Additionally, the laboratory provides unique diagnostic services to both
commercial and hobbyist beekeeping communities. This is especially important
because of the onslaught of multiple honey bee diseases. Abandoning these
laboratories at such a time of crisis is poorly thought out. And for those who
would say that those services are just going to be transferred to other laboratories
I say; have you ever moved a laboratory, especially one as large as Beltsville with
all of its equipment, supplies, people, beehives and priceless collection of archived
samples? I have moved my own laboratory of much smaller magnitude and it is
never the same and the lag time in getting up and ready to work is always longer
than planned. Food security, for which pollinators are essential, is part of our
national security and abandoning government sponsored research on honey bee
biology and their diseases right now, for largely political reasons, is a no-win
situation for anyone. Please reconsider this decision.

Regards
Michael P. Lesser, Ph. D.
Research Professor Emeritus
Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, and
School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering
University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH 03824
mpl@unh.edu

Fellow of the International Coral Reef Society
Fellow of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

To whom it may concern,
As a group of primarily rural beekeepers, we are writing in strong opposition of closing the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). Besides breaking up functioning working groups, disrupting scientific work, and losing a facility that has grown into its role with the Beltsville Bee Research Laboratory for 90 years, closing BARC will remove an agricultural institution from a populated area. We spend a lot of effort and energy educating urban populations about agriculture, and removing a facility as important as BARC will further remove agriculture from the sight & minds of the area populus. Further, sustaining the beekeeping community is aligned with protecting the country’s food security, since 75% of our food requires pollination from bees.

As an industry, beekeeping has faced significant challenges in recent years – leading to a critical concern about sustainability – and it is the researchers at the Beltsville Bee Research Lab at BARC that have been responsive and helpful as we look for data to lead our management decisions. That essential service is a product of the collective expertise, collaboration, and unique research environment allowed at BARC.

We are in complete support of the continued operation of BARC to continue to serve the scientific & agricultural interests of Americans, at its current location.
Sincerely,
Eastern Colorado Beekeepers