The pollinator crisis in North America everyone should be talking about

From a 70% collapse in honeybee colonies, to 22% of North American pollinators facing an elevated risk of extinction, it's safe to say, we have a very serious problem on our hands.

When I bought my 6.74 acres of farmland in 2023, I had one thing on my mind: I wanted to help the pollinators. I didn’t know the first thing about farming, gardening, species preservation, native plants, or developing out raw land. I’ve learned a lot since then, and though I have a long way to go, my mission for my land remains the same. In fact, my passion for saving these pollinators has only increased.

Here’s why.

Nearly 70% of Monarch butterflies have disappeared in the last 30 years. The situation is so dire that it caught the attention of 60 Minutes last night, with a special feature on how we can help one of North America’s most beloved, and mysterious, pollinating species.

And if you think the problem starts and ends with Monarch butterflies, think again. Entomologists in the U.S. reported a 60 to 70% colony loss in 2025, the worst they have ever seen. For those who would argue that honeybees are not native to North America, and therefore, don’t deserve our collective worry… to that I say this colony collapse is a symptom of a very harrowing trend that certainly won’t end with just honeybees.

Another recent study by NatureServe outlines that over 22% of all North American pollinators are at an elevated risk of extinction.

And let us not forget our feathered friends, whose birdsong and brightly colored wings do more than wake us up in the morning. Birds are just as much pollinators as the North American bumblebee, which is why the following finding is disturbing: there are 2.9 BILLION fewer birds in North America today versus 1970. Grassland bird species are among those hit the hardest, with 53% of all species gone in the last 50-years. The reason in this case is obvious: their habitat is gone, too.

Before I dive into why pollinator populations are collapsing, if you find yourself skeptical of these studies I have linked or who funded them, I would challenge you to go outside this week and look around. Listen to the land around you. For those of you with some years on me (I am 32), you will notice fewer birds, morning songs, butterflies, moths, bumblebees, and come this June, virtually no lightning bugs. I didn’t need to read these studies to know what they have already confirmed. In my three decades on the planet, the biodiversity I see today doesn’t hold a candle to what I remember at age 12.

It’s indisputable that we have the fight of our lifetimes on our hands right now. It’s up to us to prevent a mass pollinator extinction, which could trigger the eventual extinction of our own species, too.

If that sounds extreme, good. This is an extreme problem. The statistics get worse every year. And they’re getting worse because the causations for pollinator collapse are getting worse.

There can always be debate around causation. I think at this point we can all agree the following is contributing to this catastrophic situation.

Why pollinators are virtually disappearing

Loss of habitat

When I briefly lived in Cape Coral, Florida, I had never seen habitat loss like that in my entire life. I had spent most of my life in New York State, which, though it has its shortcomings tax-wise, is a pretty environmentally-forward state. The loss of habitat in Florida was so revolting to me I could no longer stay to see it. I donated my plot of land I owned to the threatened burrowing owl species and returned home where there is some semblance of caring about the land.

It’s quite simple: these pollinators no longer have a home. Prairies used to support a significant amount of pollinators - 80% of the original U.S. grassland prairies that were here in the 1800s are gone, with nearly 99% of tallgrass prairie being eradicated and converted into agricultural land.

I started this journey in 2023 heralding farmers and wanting to join their ranks as a way to make food local again. But, you find me now in 2025, many books, articles, and personal experiences later with a different perspective. How we are farming in this country cannot continue. Period. There’s no nuance to that. Many of these farmers have taken the corporate checks and turn a blind eye to what they are doing to our land. I am not saying ‘all farmers are bad;’ but I am saying many of them have zero regard for what they have done to our land, air, and rivers, polluted with pesticides that they KNOW are killing us all.

Chemicals

I won’t bore you with the incredible list of chemicals and pesticides applied to our land today. I will just leave you with this: 280 MILLION POUNDS of glyphosate is applied to our land and crops every year. Yes, you read that correctly: GLYPHOSATE.

These pesticides leach into the water supply, ending up in the air, food, and soil. Not only do they poison and eventually kill the pollinators, but while the pollinators are alive, they relocate to avoid exposure. It results in massive areas that are pollinator-less altogether.

And while the farmers poison the rivers and soil, the powers-that-be poison the air with chemtrails. Call me a conspiracy theorist. I have watched, studied, and mapped these planes above my farm for the last two-years. I have overwhelming evidence they are spraying aluminum and other chemicals into the sky to ‘block the sun’ as a form of geo-engineering. I have read about the projects in countless books. The science community doesn’t call it a conspiracy - they call it ‘smart engineering’ to cool the earth.

The result is a collective dumping of chemicals that these pollinators can barely endure.

Specialty plant species

The Monarch butterfly can ONLY lay their eggs on one species of plant: milkweed. Without it, they cease to exist. The Monarch lays the eggs that hatch into caterpillars that can only feed on milkweed to pupate. Once the Monarch butterfly emerges, it will feed on nectar and local plant and flower sources. But to reach the stage of butterfly, milkweed is essential.

Milkweed used to be everywhere… until modern farming began. Agricultural operations have eradicated every last piece of milkweed from their farms. And homes have uprooted the plant as a ‘weed’ that’s an eyesore. We’ve traded in grasslands, prairies, and milkweed for lawns.

It’s not just Monarchs that have a specialty plant. The endangered Karner blue butterfly needs perennial lupine to do the same thing.

For birds, they need berry-bearing plants to sustain them not only in the summer, but also in the winter. We’ve eradicated the plants that feed them, which results in fewer breeding pairs (bonus mention for the windows installed on new buildings today that birds unknowingly fly into, causing their death).

Ecological corridors

Pollinators need to be able to move around in search of new food sources. If there is not a single source of pollen, nectar, berry, or other food-bearing plants for more than a mile, they can’t make the trip. We are in desperate need of these corridors as a way for pollinators to get around. This is something neighbors could coordinate. All it takes is one strip of wildflowers (that bloom at different times) to line up with your neighbors. I believe we are going to start seeing this kind of collaboration in the future.

It is imperative that these corridors contain NATIVE plants. It’s also imperative that people provide food sources that bloom from April to October (if you’re up north like me).

Do we stand a chance?

I know that list seems insurmountable and daunting. It’s why most people think all hope is lost.

But I don’t think hope is lost at all.

I think we can collectively change the picture here more quickly than we believe. I think we can set off a domino effect that gets more people caring about this. I have to share the scary stats to shock people INTO caring. It’s the only way.

Here are a few things you can do this week to help. And please note: you don’t need dozens of acres to help. You just need a balcony.

• plant or buy the milkweed that’s native to your region

• put out a pollinator waterer (we sell these at my farm stand - a shallow saucer with some marbles or stones in it so they can safely land and drink water)

• leave the mess - pollinators overwinter, reproduce, and seek shelter in brush, fallen leaves, fallen trees, etc.

• plant a plethora of annuals and native plants that bloom year-round

• talk to your neighbors about this and get them to plant some stuff, too

• commit to ZERO spraying of ANY chemicals at your property, even for pests!!

We CAN do this. Energetically, perhaps it had to get this dire to wake us all up to what we’ve done to the environment. I’ll save my commentary on how our food should be grown for future articles. I am a one-woman-show over here, attempting to garden, farm food, save pollinators, and restore my native prairie land at my property. I am doing it with NO tractor or pesticides, and hopefully no-tilling after this first year. I want to be the example I write about. I sure am trying! I welcome you all to join me and follow along with the adventure here.

Please share any of your pollinator stories, observations, or findings with me below. I want to hear it all!

And if you want to learn more about the specifics, costs, my land loan, and so forth, I cover that here as well. Subscriptions are helping me make this all possible, so thank you.

There is a lot to come in this newsletter. Please do stick around!