Writing for the Minnesota Daily, the University of Minnesota's very fine student paper, Natalie Rademacher reports in Minnesota's buzzin' about bees:
Initiatives to conserve Minnesota's pollinator population are being rolled out locally and statewide.
Pollinators, including types of bees and other insects, have been declining in recent years, officials say. But efforts are underway at the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Legislature to find ways to protect the communities and create awareness.
Bill trying to make a sting in the Legislature
As public awareness around the decline of bees increases statewide, initiatives are emerging out of the Legislature to protect pollinators.
A bill going through the Minnesota House this session would give some larger cities in Minnesota, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, more control over the regulation of pesticides, delegating some of the control that is usually held by the state. Similar bills introduced in the House haven't made it this far before.
The bill was presented at an agricultural and food finance committee meeting earlier this month and will be discussed on the House floor within the next few weeks, said Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-St. Paul.
“I felt that we needed to spur some changes. If statewide law can’t protect pollinators, lets see what cities can do,” Hansen said.
The bill would allow certain cities to tighten regulations on pesticides that are harmful to pollinators.
“These cities could become a refuge to pollinators,” said Rep. Jean Wagenius, DFL-Minneapolis.
The population of some kinds of bees have declined because of the use of neonicotinoid insecticides, a type of pesticide used to protect plants and trees from insects and is known to be harmful to certain pollinators.
When some bees come in contact with neonicotinoids, their nervous systems shut down, making them unable to do their jobs, said Vera Krischik, a University entomology professor who researches the effects of the pesticide on bee populations. This contact eventually kills off a bee colony, she said.
Krischik said the proposed policies are a balanced approach to protecting pollinators because they don't deny people the ability to use pesticides. There are other kinds of chemicals that are friendly to pollinators, but are more costly and take more education to know how to use them, she added.
“All the researchers say we can’t get rid of [neonicotinoids], but we should regulate it,” Krischik said. . . .
Read the rest at the Minnesota Daily. Earlier this month, a reader shared Dr. Krischik's powerpoint presentation at the 4th Annual Best Practices for Pollinators Summit 2019, hosted by the Pollinator Friendly Alliance & Three Rivers Park District. Here it is (slow loading but worth the wait):
The state is fortunate to be the academic home of scientists like Krischik.
Photo: A rusty-patched bumble bee digging into some wild bergamot, a pollinator favorite; schools selected for the program will receive bergamot and other pollinator-friendly seedlings. Image via Xerces Society.
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