The Conservation Commission ended its meeting on Friday, Dec. 17 with a discussion on a request sent from a private resident who wanted to place a beehive in the Beaver Dam Brook Reservation.
While conservation members agreed that expanding the pollinator population is always a good idea, they concluded that this was not the right approach and ultimately decided to block the beehives from being placed in Beaver Dam Brook.
Importantly, the hives would be introducing honey bees into the area’s ecosystem, which, as a commentary letter sent to the commission described, is not a native species.
According to the United States Geological Survey’s website, honey bees were imported to the continent from Europe in the 17th century and have since been crucial for the pollination of crops.
However, according to the USGS site, “honey bees are also significant competitors of native bees and should not be introduced in conservation areas, parks, or areas where you want to foster the conservation of native plants and native bees.”
Director of Planning and Conservation Emilie Cademartori expressed concern that Beaver Dam Brook has experienced vandalism in the past and that someone knocking over the hive without knowing what it is would be dangerous.
Other members agreed, adding that there could be risks associated with people walking through the area who are allergic to bees and are unaware of what could potentially be a large hazard.
“If we allow private use on a public land for this, then what’s to prevent any future requests for anything else people feel is nature related,” said Conservation Member Jared Yagjian.
Overall, the sentiment of the commissions was this was the right idea, but not the right palace for it. Cademartori brought up that there have been discussions about one day opening up spaces for community gardens that would be more appropriate for a resident to maintain a beehive.
Supporting the pollinator population is a sentiment endorsed by all members of the commission, but the risks with the honeybees are too great. Yagjian floated a solution of planting vegetation that could increase the population of native pollinators
“We’ve seen too many disasters with nonindigenous lifeforms creating death for the indigenous ones,” concluded Conservation Member Erin Hohmann.
