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8 <br />Appendix A <br />(DRAFT) City of Shoreview Resolution Endorsing Pollinator Protection and Promoting Pollinator <br />Habitat <br />WHEREAS, pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and other insects, are an indispensable component of <br />a healthy ecosystem and food system, providing flowering plants with the pollination needed to grow <br />fruits, vegetables, nuts, and herbs; and <br />WHEREAS, scientific research has shown that pollinator populations are in rapid decline in the city of <br />Shoreview, in the State of Minnesota, and across the United States; and <br />WHEREAS, research has shown that the decline is a result of multiple, interacting factors, including loss <br />of food and habitat, pathogens and parasites, climate change, and the increased use of pesticides, <br />including neonicotinoids; and <br />WHEREAS, neonicotinoids are a class of systemic chemical insecticides that have been shown to impair <br />pollinators at low doses and kill them at higher doses; and <br />WHEREAS, alternative land management practices are available that would significantly increase <br />pollinator habitat and reduce maintenance costs; and <br />WHEREAS, Minnesota state law preempts municipalities’ ability to regulate pesticides, but does not <br />restrict a municipality’s treatment of the land it manages; and <br />WHEREAS, many Shoreview residents and businesses are concerned about the well-being of pollinators; <br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Shoreview: <br />The City of Shoreview is hereby declared a Pollinator Friendly Community. The city celebrates current <br />policies and practices that protect and promote pollinator health, including: <br />- The City of Shoreview, with the help of several volunteers, successfully established native flora <br />through a shoreline restoration project on City Hall grounds. <br />- The City prioritizes nurseries that refrain from using neonicotinoids when purchasing plants for <br />City projects. <br />- City of Shoreview departments use very little pesticides. Pesticides are used in topical, contained <br />treatments to protect against threats like the emerald ash borer. In order to preserve the quality <br />of the playing surface on high-value sports fields, herbicides and insecticides are periodically <br />applied to control weeds, ants, and mosquitoes. Occasionally, the City will treat individual park <br />trees with insecticides to control pest outbreaks including Japanese beetles. <br />- The City seeks to incorporate pollinator habitat with storm water management through the use <br />of rain gardens and native plant buffers. <br />W1 <br />W2 <br />W3 <br />W4 <br />W5 <br />W6 <br />W7 <br />R1 <br />R2 <br />R3 <br />R4 <br />R5