No matter that Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ clunky housing policy, Proposition HH, was defeated in November 2023. He will be remembered as the “housing governor.”
Of course, he made other significant gains – leading through murky, untested federal directives in the dark of the pandemic, codifying access to reproductive health care and transitioning the state toward a clean energy economy.
Now, Polis has layered his legacy with a new achievement – a governor for pollinators.
That’s right. Far from the noise of who’s switching Congressional districts or other state issues dominating headlines, Polis announced the results of a Jan. 3 released pollinator study – the most robust and detailed our state has seen – and all it implies at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster.
As directed by SB22-199, the Native Pollinating Insects Protection Study assessed the health of Colorado’s native pollinators, evaluated state policies for safeguarding pollinators, and made recommendations on how to preserve and protect pollinators.
Study partners include the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Colorado State University Extension, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and University of Colorado Museum of Natural History.
Pollinators may not make splashy headlines, but their importance is literally one of life and death. As in ours.
New policies to protect our food systems and support biodiversity will spring from this report.
The beauty in this report’s deep dive is the collaboration between locally, nationally and internally recognized experts in the field of pollinator conservation, and actionable steps in pinpointing problems and identifying practices to sustain pollinators.
Their scholarship will join other scientists, land management agencies, legislators and stakeholders, in both agricultural and urban habitats, to bring together necessary parts to conserve native pollinating insects.
Pollinating insects will get more deserved attention in the Southwest. Enjoy that sweet, flavorful local honey? We do, too. This study is one more tool to ensure we won’t go without.
Polis’ attention and weight behind the state’s pollinator report is enough to bestow a new moniker. We’re calling Polis the “butterfly governor.”
Colorado is home to more than 1,000 species of bees – nearly 30% of North America’s – and nearly 300 species of butterflies, representing more than 40% of the diversity of butterflies north of Mexico, some already listed under the Endangered Species Act.
In his budget proposal on Nov. 1, Polis included $100,000 to support education and incentives to encourage the use of pesticide alternatives in agricultural production and landscaping. In May, Polis signed Neonic Pesticides as Limited-Use Pesticides, which protects pollinators from harmful toxins. A good start.
This summer and spring, pollinator-friendly native plantings along Interstate 76 will pop up following its designation as a Colorado Pollinator Highway by the Colorado Department of Transportation. Native plantings will also come to the state’s Natural Areas Program and become part of the Wildlife Action Plan, among others.
We’re reminded of the legacy of “Lady Bird” Johnson, who made the beautification and the seeding of wildflowers one of her points of focus during the presidency of her husband, Lyndon Johnson, from 1963 to 1969. Partly because of her efforts, the Highway Beautification Act passed in 1965. The natural beauty of wildflowers continue to line many highways across our nation.
The pollinator report highlights immediate priorities: 1) Protect imperiled native pollinating insects; 2) Protect, restore and connect pollinator habitats; 3) Mitigate environmental changes that negatively impact pollinators and habitats; 4) Reduce the risks from pesticides to pollinating insects; 5) Monitor and support native and managed pollinator health.
At the big reveal at the Butterfly Pavilion, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, butterflies fluttered over Polis’ head in an enclosed tropical dreamscape, thumping with insect activity. Butterflies alighted onto spectators wearing bright colors and brimmed hats.
Around the world, populations of bees and other pollinators have been in steep decline. But in that time and space at the Pavilion, visitors experienced an interlude, a veritable heaven-on-Earth for pollinators, humming with health and hope.
