How Fort Collins is Responding to Colorado's Pollinator Decline

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The park hummed with life. Sun-drenched wildflowers swayed in the alpine breeze while freshly cut grass stretched between winding trails. Soaring cottonwoods draped their shadows across families and cyclists seeking refuge from the summer heat. As far as anyone could tell, it was a healthy ecosystem. 

But look closer. Listen. Notice how the butterflies are scarce and the native bees have stopped buzzing. The insect orchestra that once accompanied Colorado summers has grown noticeably quieter — not because the pollinators themselves have vanished, but because the landscapes they call home are being steadily erased. 

"You have all these impacts that are occurring and impacting pollinators, and on top of that, you've got climate changing the weather patterns," said Steve Armstead, Colorado Pollinator Specialist with the Xerces Society. "All those have real implications for the well-being of our pollinators and it’s compounded by these other impacts."

Pollinators across North America have experienced alarming declines as climate change intensifies habitat loss, urban development, pesticide use and other pressures reshaping the landscapes they rely on. Because pollinators sustain crops, food systems and the ecosystems communities depend on, their decline has become more than a wildlife issue — it has become a question of climate resilience. 

While many of those pressures extend beyond any one community, cities increasingly have the power to influence whether pollinators survive locally through decisions about parks, mowing practices and habitat restoration. Fort Collins is among the Colorado communities embracing those efforts — but whether local policies can keep pace with a growing biodiversity crisis remains an open question. 

An Invisible Decline

"Here in Colorado, we have over 1,000 different species of native bees. We know very little about them," said Armstead. 

Native bees are easy to overlook, but they quietly strengthen the ecosystems that help Colorado communities remain resilient as climate change reshapes the landscape. 

Their decline is more than a wildlife issue. Armstead said healthy pollinator populations help sustain food systems, biodiversity and the ecosystems communities depend on as climate change makes growing conditions increasingly unpredictable. 

By pollinating native plants and agricultural crops, bees sustain crops such as apples, peaches, squash and alfalfa while helping preserve the wildflower landscapes that define Colorado's natural environment. Roughly one out of every three bites of food people eat depends on pollination.

As rising temperatures and prolonged drought reshape Colorado’s landscapes, native pollinator populations have sharply declined over the past 35 years, with one-fifth of the state’s native pollinators now requiring or seeking federal protection. 

The 2024 Colorado Native Pollinating Insects Health Study identified habitat loss, pesticides, non-native species and climate change as the primary drivers of those declines. Armstead served as one of the study's lead authors.

One of the clearest examples of decline is spring itself. For thousands of years, Colorado's native bees and wildflowers have relied on the same seasonal cues — warming temperatures and melting snow — to emerge after winter. But climate change is altering those signals. As springs become warmer and drier, some flowers are blooming earlier than the pollinators that depend on them, creating a growing mismatch between when food is available and when native bees awaken from hibernation.

Climate change is also amplifying habitat loss. As development replaces natural landscapes with roads, neighborhoods and commercial areas, pollinators lose nesting sites and flowering plants. Rising temperatures and shifting vegetation zones make the remaining habitat even less reliable, forcing bees to travel farther for food while isolating already vulnerable populations.

"Anytime you take what is a natural environment and alter it in some way, that's irreversible in a lot of ways,” said Armstead. 

As climate change creates warmer temperatures and more unpredictable growing conditions, farms and landscapes can face greater pressure from weeds and insect pests, increasing reliance on pesticides. 

"These are chemicals that are designed to kill insects. Anytime you use them, that's going to have a direct implication for pollinators," said Armstead. 

Climate change is increasingly compounding every major threat facing Colorado’s pollinators. Rising temperatures, habitat loss, pesticide use and other human pressures are converging at the same time, leaving native bees with fewer places to live, less food to eat and greater difficulty surviving one season to the next. 

"There's just a lot of impacts hitting them, and they don't have other helping hands," said Armstead. 

Designing a City for Pollinators 

Infographic Courtesy of Avery Ehrig

As climate change continues to intensify those pressures, communities across Colorado are increasingly looking for ways to slow the decline.

Matt Parker, Rachel Steeves and Zoe Shark of the Fort Collins Natural Areas Department said, "Land management practices that promote uniformity over diversity will not support this vast array of pollinator species."

Rather than relying on a single pollinator program, Fort Collins has woven habitat conservation into multiple areas of city planning — from development standards and landscaping requirements to climate planning and park design. The goal isn’t simply to protect pollinators, but to strengthen the ecosystems that support local food production, biodiversity and long-term community resilience in a changing climate. 

"The best actions cities can take is to support native landscaping, promote habitat conservation through open space programs, and educate community members on the importance of learning to live within our natural surroundings," staff from the Fort Collins Natural Areas Department said. 

One of the goals outlined in Fort Collins’ Our Climate Future Framework is to create “Healthy Natural Spaces” by expanding habitat and protecting biodiversity. 

"One of the City's climate action goals found in 'Our Climate Future' calls out Healthy Natural Spaces," staff from the Fort Collins Natural Areas Department said. 

One example is the city’s Xeriscape and Soil Amendment policy, which encourages drought-tolerant landscaping and reduces the amount of traditional turf grass required in new developments. Native vegetation not only uses less water but also creates more habitat for pollinators.

The city has also adopted an Integrated Pest Management policy that prioritizes nonchemical methods of controlling weeds and insects, limiting pesticide use whenever possible. 

Through its Nature in the City Strategic Plan (NIC), Fort Collins funds neighborhood habitat restoration projects and helps homeowners, businesses and HOAs replace traditional lawns with native landscapes. The city's Natural Areas Division also manages more than 40,000 acres of protected land through a dedicated sales tax.

Can Cities Make a Difference? 

Even with these efforts, one important question remains: Are they actually working?

"Measuring success in a highly rigorous way is difficult," staff from the Fort Collins Natural Areas Department said.

Although observations of native bees are increasing, city staff say growing public awareness makes it difficult to determine whether populations are actually recovering. 

To better understand those trends, Colorado State University's Native Bee Watch trains volunteers to document native bee populations across northern Colorado, while the Mountain States Bumble Bee Atlas only began collecting statewide data in 2024. Researchers say those efforts are helping establish the long-term baseline needed to evaluate whether conservation policies are making a measurable difference.

Studies cited by the city have documented increases in bird, butterfly and bee species where native vegetation has been restored. 

Conservation Starts at Home 

Infographic Courtesy of Avery Ehrig

Cities can restore habitat, but conservation doesn't end at the edge of a park.

"Simple things like leaving the leaves behind, or not clearing out gardens at the end of the growing season ... that's actually important material for sheltering a lot of our pollinators over winter," Armstead said.

Planting native flowers and replacing traditional turf with native vegetation provides pollinators with the nectar, pollen and nesting habitat many species need throughout their life cycles.

"Converting turf grass to a native-focused landscape is a great start," staff from the Fort Collins Natural Areas Department said.

Many native bee species don't live in hives like honey bees. Instead, they spend much of their lives nesting underground, inside hollow plant stems or beneath fallen leaves. Tidying gardens too aggressively each fall can unintentionally remove the shelter many pollinators rely on to survive the winter.

At first glance, Fort Collins' parks appear much the same as they always have. But look a little closer.

The buzz of a native bee. A monarch crossing a meadow. Wildflowers left standing just a little longer than before. Those aren't small details.

They are signs of a city learning that the healthiest landscapes aren't always the neatest ones — they're the ones where life has room to flourish.

"Through all the different actions we're taking ... maybe we're reducing the declines, but maybe actually supporting and improving the abundance and diversity of species over time," Armstead said.

For Fort Collins, protecting pollinators isn't simply about saving bees. It's about reimagining what a climate-resilient city looks like — one where healthy ecosystems help sustain biodiversity, food systems and the people who depend on them. 

*Cover image depicts a Colorado Western Bumble Bee pollinating a native wildflower, the Scarlet Gilia. Courtesy of USDA/ARS. (Photo by Peggy Greb)