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Letter: Please stop poisoning the bees

Dear Aspen Pitkin County Weed Advisory Board,

The declining population of the honeybees is affecting agriculture and bee farmers, which are two thriving business in our valley. Your job is to eradicate noxious weeds in Pitkin County, which we appreciate a lot. Unfortunately, the chemicals you spray such as the neonicotinoids are deadly to bees. We would appreciate it if you would spray these chemicals early in the year before the plants flower to refrain from killing local honeybees.

We have done extensive research and talked to local honey producers such as the Wild Bear Bee Farm. They have all identified the weed killers; especially the ones with neonicotinoids are killing bees. The bees get a whiff of the weed killer and it confuses them and they cannot find their way to their hive, thus killing them. We would appreciate it greatly if you could spray these chemicals earlier in the year.



Andy Bass, Nate Balko, Joseph Baker, Luca Pedinielli, Johnnie Kertz and Wilder Rothberg

The Rumblebees, Aspen Middle School robotics team