EPA is Developing Metrics to Measure to State/Tribal Managed Pollinator Protection Plans (MP3)
May 3, 2017
EPA officials stated that the agency will have metrics for its MP3 program. The agency has an intensive project underway to develop the metrics via its Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC). The PPDC established a Pollinator Protection Plan Metrics Workgroup in October 2016. The Workgroup, which has met monthly since its inception, presented its initial recommendations to the full PPDC today. The MP3 Metrics Workgroup is expected to present its final recommendation to the PPDC in November 2017.
The Workgroup is proposing a “point” system that could be used to evaluate each State/Tribal MP3 Plan. Plans would gain points via stakeholder engagement, educational outreach and other activities. All scoring would be self-assessments performed by States and Tribes. The scores are intended to allow States to show progress over time. The system is not intended to allow cross-state comparisons of individual MP3 Plans or of plan scores nor does the Workgroup intend that the numeric point system ever be converted into a pass/fail determination.
In all of the session presentations, officials emphasized the crucial and ongoing role of stakeholder engagement in all of the agency’s activities.
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