West Linn Becomes the 80th Bee City USA in the Nation

WEST LINN, OR – March 27, 2019 – West Linn City Council unanimously voted on Monday, March 11, 2019 to become a Bee City USA®, joining 79 other cities across the country united in improving their landscape for pollinators. The vote by City Council is the culmination of months of effort by West Linn Parks and Recreation to accomplish this certification.

“As a city resident, I am so excited that our City Councilors voted to designate West Linn as a Bee City USA affiliate” said Scott Black, Executive Director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.  “The Parks department has already been working with the Xerces Society and other partners to plant habitats, as have schools and individuals. Now that we are a Bee City USA, the important message of planting flowers and avoiding pesticides can reach even more residents. Together we can make West Linn a better place for pollinators, and for us.”

"Pollinators and bees are such a vital part of our ecosystem health. Being a Bee City USA affiliate will help raise awareness of the value of maintaining, and creating, pollinator habitat and reducing the use of harmful pesticides" said West Linn City Mayor Russ Axelrod, "I'm so proud to have West Linn recognized as a Bee City and want to thank our Parks staff, and many key residents that encouraged and supported this designation."

Bee City USA is an initiative of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, with offices across the country. Bee City USA’s mission is to galvanize communities to sustain pollinators by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants and free of insecticides. Pollinators like bumble bees, sweat bees, mason bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, hummingbirds, and many others are responsible for the reproduction of almost ninety percent of the world's flowering plant species and one in every three bites of food we consume. 

Here in West Linn you can find pollinator gardens at Cedaroak and Trillium Creek Primary Schools, Marylhurst Park, and Mary S. Young Park with more planned and on the way. For more information about West Linn’s Bee City USA Program, reach out to Parks and Recreation at 503.557.4700. For more information about Bee City USA, visit https://www.beecityusa.org and for more information about the Xerces Society, visit https://xerces.org.

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