By Nate Reagle, Clean Energy Program Advocate
Do you love nature? Do you enjoy watching monarch butterflies and bumble bees as they visit beautiful wildflowers? Whether you simply like nature or you appreciate the role pollinators play in our agriculture, insects are important to Pennsylvania. Perhaps you’ve heard about insect decline and wish we could do more to help our native insects. Great news! There are multiple House Bills currently in the Pennsylvania Legislature addressing insect conservation and native plants.
House Bill 441, which grants authority of native terrestrial invertebrates to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), has passed the House and is now in the Senate. This bill is important since there is no state agency responsible for these critters and no way to designate them as PA Threatened or Endangered. If you are excited about this, you can help! Call your State Senator and ask them to support HB 441, or send your message here.
House Bill 426 prioritizes native landscaping at state office buildings. Think of all the state buildings surrounded by mown grass and non-native landscaping. This is a desert to our native insects. These numerous facilities provide great opportunities to provide native habitats. The good news is that DCNR has native plant expertise and guidance on using native plants that they can share with other agencies. Call your State Representative and ask them to support HB 426, or send your message here.
Perhaps you live in a Homeowners Association (HOA) and want to use native plants in your yard, but have a restrictive list of what you are allowed to plant. House Bill 1878 will prevent HOAs from unreasonably restricting the use of native plants for landscaping. Not only does this protect private property rights, it benefits nature!
Finally, there is also House Resolution 66, which calls for a study about insect conservation in Pennsylvania. This resolution can help DCNR with the design of an insect conservation program.
Do you want to help? House Bill 1878 and House Resolution 66 are still in the PA House of Representatives. You can help by calling your State Representative and asking them to support the bill and resolution. Let’s make sure the next generation has the pleasure of seeing butterflies, bees, and lightning bugs!
Find your legislator here.
This blog was included as part of the December 2025 Sylvanian newsletter. Please click here to check out more articles from this edition!