Julia Brokaw: Want to help protect endangered bees? Oppose the Roof Depot demolition
MINNPOST OPINION – April 25, 2023
By Julia Brokaw and Dr. Elaine Evans
This intentional harm to bees by the city goes against their stated promises in the 2015 “pollinator friendly community” resolution that claims to support pollinator health and local food solutions.
The City of Minneapolis is making every effort to demolish the Roof Depot building to construct a public works facility within the habitat of a federally endangered bumble bee. City officials and the courts have ignored environmental protections designed to protect endangered bees and instead are moving ahead with a polluting project that the community has opposed for years. When bee populations are threatened, it puts everyone at risk because pollinators are crucial for food production and ecosystem health.
The community’s vision for an indoor urban farm would not only prevent toxic pollution by avoiding any demolition, years-long construction, and increased traffic pollution, but would provide green space for wildlife and support the survival of this imperiled bee species.