LONGMONT, Colo. -- You may not appreciate bees when they're buzzing around your picnic, but there's no denying that bumblebees and honeybees are critical to our environment. Insect pollinators are responsible for 35 percent of the food we eat.
"They're worth about 24 billion dollars to agriculture every year in the U.S. alone," says Mario Padilla, an entomologist at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster.
Recognizing their importance, Longmont city councilors voted Tuesday night to pass a resolution to protect pollinators. The resolution states that Longmont will strive to reduce and minimize pesticide use on city lands and in city buildings. The city will also create a comprehensive pesticide use policy.
Additionally, the resolution states that Longmont will work to enhance safe and healthy pollinator forage habitat by revising mowing policies where possible to allow wildflowers and other appropriate flowering species to flourish and feed pollinators.
Beekeepers and entomologists like Padilla support these steps.
"We need flowering plants throughout the entire season for them to feed and a diversity of flowering plants," Padilla said.
