Ulysses Bee Friendly Community Committee

WHO WE ARE
 
The Ulysses Bee Friendly Community Committee was established by Town Board resolution on October 25, 2022.  The purpose of the committee is to become an affiliate of Bee City USA, and maintain this affiliation, an initiative of the nonprofit Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation.
As an affiliate of Bee City USA, the Town of Ulysses is committed to:

• Maintaining a standing Bee Committee to help advocate, educate and plan.
• Create and enhance pollinator habitat on public and private land by increasing the abundance of native plants and providing pollinator nest sites. 
• Reduce the use of harmful pesticides.
• Advocate for and incorporate pollinator-conscious practices.
• Host pollinator awareness events. 
• Pay annual fees and complete reports to Bee City USA to help track data. 

More information on the Bee City USA program can be found here:  https://beecityusa.org/

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WHY A “BEE COMMITTEE”?
 
While most people think of honey bees when they hear the word “bee,” our committee is concerned not just with honey bees, which are not native to the United States, but with all pollinators, which include many species of wild bees native to our area.  Wild bee populations – of which there are about 450 species in New York -- are on the decline in our state.  A recent survey by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation found that between 38% and 60% of native pollinator species are at risk of extinction, and another 11% are known only from historical records.[1]  We’re taking action to ensure that bee species diversity is supported in the Town of Ulysses.
 
So why should we care about bees?  They assist in plant reproduction, and touch our lives in many ways daily, including being responsible for pollinating approximately one-third of the food and drink we consume.  The value of crop pollination has been estimated between $18 and $27 billion annually in the U.S.  And some wild bees are specialized, in that they only pollinate certain crops/flowers.  If the bees disappear, it may not be long before certain plant species disappear also.

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PUT YOURSELF ON THE POLLINATOR MAP:

More information and resources for residents interested in protecting and promoting pollinator habitats can be found at the website of the Tompkins Pollinator Pathway (https://blogs.cornell.edu/tompkinspollinatorpathway/).  You can also pledge to commit to creating pollinator habitat and put yourself on the map as a pollinator habitat promoter.

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS
 
Mary Bouchard (Town Board liaison) – email: bouchard@townofulyssesny.gov
Bridget Brewer
Gunther Keil
George Myers
Brooke Palmer
Paul Rack
Gail Shapiro
Achala Wali
Alison James
 

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HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

• Bee Committee meetings are held the third Saturday of most months at 10 a.m. and are open to the public; contact the Town Board liaison to confirm the meeting date and time.
• Plant a pollinator garden using native plants.   
• Put up a bee house at home.
• Follow Integrated Pest Management principles to reduce the need for pesticides.

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INFORMATION ON NATIVE POLLINATOR PLANTS
 
Lots of great information provided by nearby Cornell University:  https://cals.cornell.edu/pollinator-network/conservation/creating-pollinator-habitats
 
Selecting plants for pollinators:  https://pollinator.org/PDFs/Laurentian.rx9.pdf
 
Make your backyard pollinator-friendly:  https://cornell.app.box.com/v/bee-friendly-backyards
 
 
INFORMATION ON INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT
 
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices, which minimize damage to environment and human health.  IPM can be used in both agricultural and non-agricultural settings, such as the home, garden and workplace.
IPM relies on several decisions, evaluations and controls captured in four steps:

1. Set action thresholds.  These establish a point at which preventative steps must be taken.  Seeing a single pest doesn’t always mean control is needed.  The level at which pests will become an economic threat is critical in guiding further pest control decisions.
2. Monitor and identify pests.  Not all insects, weeds and other living organisms require control.  Many are innocuous, and some may even be beneficial.  This step removes the possibility that a pesticide will be used when not needed, or that the wrong pesticide will be used.
3. Prevention as a first line of defense against pests.  Using cultural methods such as crop rotation, selecting pest-resistant varieties and planting pest-free rootstock can economically result in pest-free, or nearly pest-free environments.
4. Selecting the proper control.  When the above actions have been utilized, and pest control is still required, IPM methods rely on the proper control method for both effectiveness and risk.  Effective, less risky pest controls are used first, including highly targeted chemicals, such as pheromones to disrupt pest mating, or mechanical controls, such as trapping or weeding.  If these controls do not work, then additional pest control methods would be employed, such as targeted spraying of narrow-spectrum pesticides. 

More information on IPM here:  https://cals.cornell.edu/new-york-state-integrated-pest-management