Colorado poised to be 9th state to protect bees, limit neonic insecticides

Pollinators are important in Colorado. From Palisade peaches to Rocky Ford melons, apples to alfalfa, tomatoes to pumpkins, we need pollinators for a healthy food supply and healthy gardens.

CoPIRG applauds the legislature for passing SB23-266, which will limit neonicotinoids (neonics), a class of insecticides that is partly responsible for the steep decline we’ve seen in a key pollinator  in Colorado – bees.

We thank the sponsors – Senators Kevin Priola and Sonya Jaquez Lewis and Representatives Cathy Kipp and Kyle Brown, for their hard work to guide the bill through the legislature. Now it’s time for Governor Polis to sign it into law.

SB23-266 directs the Department of Agriculture to categorize neonics used in gardens and other outdoor spaces as a limited-use pesticide that can only be sold by pesticide dealers, removing these neonics from store shelves at most garden stores and big box retailers.

Neonics should not be sold on store shelves where anyone can just buy them and dump them on our gardens and lawns. The risk to the health of our state is too high and not worth it.

For more on the importance of bees in Colorado, check out this Environment Colorado resource.