Polis signs pollinator protection bill at Butterfly Pavilion

https://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/2022/05/27/polis-signs-pollinator-protection-bill-at-butterfly-pavilion/

People and butterflies alike gathered in the butterfly dome at Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster on Friday morning to watch Gov. Jared Polis sign a bill which will help protect pollinating species in Colorado.

SB22-199 will require a study by the Colorado Department of Natural Resources regarding the protection of native pollinating insects in the state, regarding challenges associated with native pollinating insect populations, their associated ecosystems and their health and resilience in the state.

According to the bill, based on the results of the study, the director will be required to make recommendations for the protection of native pollination insects and how to develop education and outreach programming.

The Butterfly Pavilion was the obvious choice to host the signing, as it is a leader in pollinator research and conservation.

“Butterfly Pavilion works to conserve native pollinator populations by creating healthy pollinator habitats through programs like Urban Prairies, which restores open space with native plants that support native pollinators and their habitats, and Pollinator Districts, which creates new pollinator habitats within urban corridors working with developers and extraction industries to create native pollinator habitats,” Director of Communications and Marketing at Butterfly Pavilion Jennifer Quermann wrote.

Colorado is home to more than 950 native species and 250 butterfly species, which are necessary for our ecosystem and livelihood. Horticulture Director at Butterfly Pavilion Amy Yarger said Colorado is usually ranked in the top five states for numbers of bee and butterfly species.

“Colorado is a great environment for pollinator species,” Yarger said. “One out of every three bites of food you take is dependent on pollinator species. What people enjoy about the vibrancy of their diets and food security and equity for everybody is dependent on pollinators. Even crops that aren’t dependent on them, having those native pollinators will strengthen those processes necessary for growing and yielding crops.”

Polis was joined by sponsors of the bill Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, Rep. Cathy Kipp, Rep. Meg Froelich and others when he signed the bill.

“We are trying to understand why we have declining pollinator populations,” Lewis said. “We think this will help us come up with a comprehensive plan across state departments so that we can take a look at what’s happening and see if we can come up with how to fix it.”

For more information about the Butterfly Pavilion and its work, visit butterflies.org. To learn more about the pollinator study bill, visit leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb22-199.