The N.H. Pesticide Control Board will meet Monday to consider restricting use of neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides absorbed by plants and toxic to bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

More than a dozen states have already approved such restrictions, including Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts, amid concerns over documented declines in insects, including those needed to pollinate crops.

Insecticide use has been implicated in these declines. Europe largely banned neonicotinoids in 2018. The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rules restricting use of neonicotinoids, also known as neonics.

Despite the concerns, a bipartisan regulatory bill did not clear the N.H. Legislature this year. Some lawmakers said restrictions were best left to the Pesticide Control Board.

This year, the board ordered the N.H. Division of Pesticide Control to draw up regulatory rules.

David J. Rousseau, director of the division, did not share the proposed rules with The Sentinel, but emailed minutes from a previous board meeting.

The minutes said the division would draw up rules to be considered by the board “that will prohibit non-agricultural lawn and turf applications of the neonicotinoids clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam and restrict the exterior use of the same neonicotinoids with certain exemptions.”

Rousseau said in an email that if the board votes to pursue new rules on neonics, “rulemaking steps are initiated, including a public comment period with a scheduled public hearing. Testimony can be provided during the rule’s public comment period.”

As for environmental concerns over neonics, Rousseau said only that they “are a class of insecticides with different active ingredients. As with all pesticides, use should be in accordance with the label.”

Shawn Jasper, who served as a Republican state representative for 15 years, is the state commissioner of agriculture and serves on the Pesticide Control Board.

He said in an interview Thursday that one potential aspect of new regulations for neonics would restrict their use to those certified in applying pesticides for commercial purposes.

Jasper also said neonics can be used safely.

“My general feeling is that when used properly at the right times, the right quantities, the risks are not substantial,” he said.

Rep. John MacDonald, R-Wolfeboro, was the prime sponsor of House Bill 1431, which would have restricted use of neonics in New Hampshire.

He spoke to beekeepers and others on a Zoom call this week along with Tonya Albee, founder of the Six-Legged Society, a Wolfeboro, N.H.-based group whose mission is to preserve and support pollinators.

MacDonald said that if the board doesn’t act, he will introduce new legislation to restrict use of neonics. And he encouraged people to attend the board meeting, which will be held at 9:30 a.m. Monday at 1 Granite Place, Suite 211, Concord.

“Just your presence really helps,” he said. “It tells the pesticide board that we need these restrictions.”

Albee said the goal of the restrictions will be to reduce the amount of neonics used on lawns and shrubs and reduce the flow of this insecticide into waterways.

“Reducing pesticide exposure is important,” she said. “They need flowers that aren’t contaminated with neonics, or with any pesticide for that matter.”

Albee also said in addition to trying to influence government policy, people should voluntarily try to limit the use of insecticides in their own gardens and plant native species for pollinators.

The UNH cooperative extension says the best plants for pollinators are native species such as pussy willow, wild columbine, swamp milkweed, wild bergamot, New England aster and goldenrod.

These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.