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RESOLUTION NO. 5240 <br />A RESOLUTION DESIGNATING THE CITY OF EUGENE A BEE CITY <br />USA® AFFILIATE. <br />The City Council of the City of Eugene finds that: <br />A. The mission of BEE CITY USA® is to galvanize communities to sustain pollinators <br />responsible for the reproduction of 90% of the world's wild plant species, by providing them with <br />healthy habitat rich in a variety of native plants and free, or nearly free, of pesticides. <br />B. Due in part to the tremendous diversity of wild native bees, along with the honey <br />bees that were brought to the United States from Europe in the 1600s, we have very diverse dietary <br />choices rich in fruits, nuts, vegetables and even dairy products. One in every three bites of food <br />we eat is courtesy of insect pollination. <br />C. Bees and other pollinators have experienced population declines due to a <br />combination of habitat loss, widespread use of pesticides, and the spread of invasive species and <br />diseases. <br />D. Pollinator -friendly communities can benefit local and regional economies through <br />healthier ecosystems, increased vegetable and fruit crop yields, and increased demand for <br />pollinator friendly plant materials from local nurseries and growers <br />E. An ideal pollinator -friendly habitat: <br />(1) Provides diverse and abundant nectar and pollen from plants blooming in <br />succession throughout the growing season; <br />(2) Provides water for drinking, nest -building, cooling, diluting stored honey, and <br />butterfly puddling; <br />(3) Provides spaces (leaf and brush piles, un -mowed fields or field margins, bare <br />ground, fallen trees and other dead wood) for nesting and overwintering for <br />wild pollinators; <br />(4) Is pesticide -free or has minimal and least toxic but effective pesticide use <br />carried out with least ill effects on pollinators; <br />(5) Is comprised of mostly, if not all, native species of annual and perennial forbs, <br />grasses, vines, shrubs, and trees in landscapes because many wild pollinators <br />prefer or depend on the native plants with which they co -adapted; <br />(6) Includes, where possible, designated pollinator and/or pesticide -free zones in <br />public spaces with signage to educate the public and build awareness; and, <br />(7) Provides for safe and humane removal of honey or native bees when required <br />and possible. <br />Resolution - Page 1 of 3 <br />