City Council Study Session Agenda and Packet 2009 05 12

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Bee Keeping -Why allow backyard beekeeping? Potential Benefits: 1) Pollination 2) Historical significance 3) Quality of Life 4) Ecology Pollination: Food production for all fruit trees (apples, peaches, cherries, pears and plums), melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew), berries (strawberries, raspberries and blackberries), squash (zucchini, summer squash and butternut) is increased when insect pollinator visits are ma:Kimized. This applies to commercial operations, local farm stand producers and to backyard gardeners looking to put food on their own tables. While Colorado boasts over 1000 species of native bees, these insects have evolved to pollinate native species which have a relatively short bloom cycle and produce relatively little food for human consumption. Most of the foods produced in Colorado are non-native species and are highly dependant on the European Honey Bee for maximum pollination rates and crop production. Honey bee pollination is responsible for 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat! The European honey bee is unique for four main reasons 1) a significant number of bees overwinter so that there are pollinators available when non-native fruit trees (that would be most fruit trees) and grapes bloom 2) the colony lives throughout the summer so bees are available for later summer pollination -the pollination of cultivated vegetables (squash, melon, berries etc.). 3) The: European Honey Bee co-evolved with our major food plants as most are non-native to Colorado. The very ;anatomy of the honey bee (body size, fuzzy body and leg, and tongue length) has evolved to best accomplish pollination of these crops. 4) The European honey bee has been bred to be docile and to minimize swarming behaviors..lust like cow are bred to have a different temperament than buffalo, so honey bees have a different temperament than yellowjackets. Honey bees are vital. As we have populated, farms and their managed hives have been replaced by the suburban home owner and his yard of fruit trees and small vegetable gardens. As we understand the vital role honey bees play in our ecology, their crashing numbers are; all the more alarming. The reality > in Louisville today there are too few honey bees. Historical Significance: The history of beekeeping in Boulder County is long and rich. As early as 1862 hives were making the trip across the plains to our State as farmers found adequate pollination of crops and orchards required them. By the turn of the century there were 85,000 colonies in Colorado with Boulder County leading the state with 8,000 managed colonies (and 23,000 people). As populations increased many towns, including Louisville, made law to restrict animals based on land use definitions (Sec 6.16.020). Louisville has gone a step further regarding bees, including regulations on both the keeping and transport of bees (Sec. 6.24.010 and Sec 6.24.020). 13