SHOREWOOD — Shorewood has become the first city in Minnesota to pass a resolution encouraging planting bee-friendly flowers and restricting certain pesticides.

The city council unanimously approved the “bee-safe” resolution.  Officials vow to refrain from using systemic pesticides, including neonicotinoids. Those are the most widely applied insecticides in the world and can be lethal to insects.

“This is a big win for pollinators and bees,” said Patricia Hauser, a resident who pushed for the policy.

The Twin Cities suburb is also planting clover, which can provide nectar and pollen for bees, in three city parks.

Beekeepers across the country are losing a fourth to a third of their hives each winter, a dramatic decline that has exposed bees as a fragile link in the nation’s food supply chain.

While there is much debate over the role that neonicotinoids play in the bee die-off, Shorewood hasn’t ever used the chemicals on city property. But, Mayor Scott Zerby said, the policy ensures that the city doesn’t use the chemicals in the future and helps educate the community about creating pollinator-friendly habitats.

“In Shorewood, we take a lot of pride in being innovative,” he said. “In a way, we’re restoring the environment to be more bee-friendly.”

City leaders think they are the third city in the nation to pass such a policy.