"The top federal lab on native bees is set to close under President Trump’s budget."
"LAUREL, Maryland — Sam Droege, sporting worn hiking boots and blue jeans, walked through a lush field of tall grass and poison ivy — a typical commute to the government lab he has run for more than 23 years.
The wildlife biologist paused between the two cream-colored sheds that house one of the country’s largest bee collections. His floral shirt billowed in the breeze as he pointed out different plants. “Bastard toadflax,” Droege chuckled. “Great name.” The meadow was awash with sunlight and birdsong. Butterflies and bees flitted from bud to bud, digging their furry faces into dusty pollen.
“I planned to never retire,” Droege said. “But now all of that is changing.”
Droege, a slender 66-year-old who wears his long white hair in two neat French braids, is one of the world’s leading native bee experts, devoted to tracking and identifying the insects and the plants they help maintain. And for the first time in its more than two-decade-long history, the future of the bee lab is imperiled.
The Trump administration’s 2026 budget proposal calls for the defunding of the bee lab and other federally funded wildlife research efforts. Bracing for these cuts, priorities have shifted for the lab, which has collected and identified more than 1 million specimens of pollinators, hundreds of thousands of which are slotted away in its modest walls. Active field work is on pause. No new research projects have begun."
Ruby Mellen and Salwan Georges report for the Washington Post June 22, 2025.
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