This commentary is by Philip Coleman of South Burlington, a retired chemistry teacher and a poet.
One of the many great things about Vermont is its scale, giving us an advantage in preserving our vast number of plants and animals and looking after them well.
That care, both from experts and everyday folks, continues to foster the amazing biodiversity we have here. In 1997, the first conservation license plates were issued, depicting the peregrine falcon, at the time an endangered species in the state. Not only did the plate help raise $1.5 million for the Non-Game Wildlife Fund and the Watershed Grants Program, but it served as a reminder of Vermont’s care for its own.
Since then, through repopulation, the number of nesting pairs of falcons has increased from three in 1985 to well over 50 today.
The last time conservation plates were added by the Department of Transportation was in 2014, when three — depicting a whitetail deer, rainbow trout and loon — were released. To continue the support of our wildlife here, it’s high time we recognized a smaller but very important creature with its own conservation license plate. In many ways this animal supports the flourishing of much of our wildlife and our special state as well.
Agriculture, as well as wildlife, depends on pollination — to produce our food, and to support our forests, fields and grasslands. Vermont depends on its pollinators for its fine honey, but also apples and cherries and other fruit trees, pumpkins and blueberries, alfalfa, clovers, vetch, milkweed, and a host of native flowers.
Honeybees are the heavy lifters, but Vermont is host to 275 species of bees that pollinate many smaller plants.
Yet, for all their importance, pollinators are at risk. Through pesticides, disease and climate stress, bee populations and bee diversity are dropping precipitously. Of our 17 bumblebee species, one has vanished in Vermont and three others are threatened. It has only been through the good work of organizations such as the Xerces Society and, locally, the Bee the Change Project — aiming to bring pollinator-friendly plantings into every Vermont town — that the plight of these crucial insects has been recognized and highlighted.
And so, I would urge our legislators to call for a new Vermont conservation license plate — featuring the Eastern bumblebee, Bombus impatiens.
Why bumblebee? First, though Vermont has named its state insect the honeybee, so have 15 other states, and uniqueness is a Vermont hallmark.
Second, the bumblebee would be the “poster child” for all 275 species of our wild bees.
Third, Bernd Heinrich, professor emeritus at UVM, was one of the very first scientists in the nation to unravel the bumblebee’s physiology and socialization.
And fourth, nearly everyone likes bumblebees!
Let’s honor and support our bee-utiful hard-working Vermonters!
