Pollinator Conservation Planning Short Course

Booneville, Arkansas
May 15, 2012
9:30 am - 4:00 pm CDT

Pollinators are essential to our environment. The ecological service they provide is necessary for the reproduction of more than 85 percent of the world's flowering plants and is fundamental to agriculture and natural ecosystems. More than two-thirds of the world's crop species are dependent on pollination, with an annual estimated value of $18 to $27 billion in the United States alone. Beyond agriculture, pollinators are keystone species in most terrestrial ecosystems, since their activities are ultimately responsible for the seeds and fruits that feed everything from songbirds to black bears. Conservation of pollinating insects is critically important to preserving both wider biodiversity as well as agriculture.

In many places, however, this essential service is at risk. In 2006, the National Academy of Sciences released the report Status of Pollinators in North America, which called attention to the decline of pollinators. The report urged agencies and organizations to increase awareness and protect pollinator habitat. The Pollinator Conservation Planning Short Course was developed to address this need. The course will include both classroom and field training components.

Introductory topics include the principles of pollinator biology, the economics of insect pollination, basic bee field identification, and evaluating pollinator habitat. Advanced modules will cover land management practices for pollinator protection, pollinator habitat restoration, incorporating pollinator conservation into federal conservation programs, selection of plants for pollinator enhancement sites, management of natural landscapes, and financial and technical resources to support these efforts. Throughout the short course these training modules are illustrated by case studies of pollinator conservation efforts across the country.

Registrants will receive the Xerces Society's Pollinator Conservation Toolkit which includes Xerces' latest book, Attracting Native Pollinators. Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies, as well as habitat management guidelines and relevant USDA-NRCS and extension publications.

The Xerces Society is offering similar Pollinator Conservation Planning Short Courses across the country. Visit our online events page to view up-to-date short course information. If you would like to receive announcements about upcoming short courses, please email shortcourses@xerces.org. Be sure to include the following information: name, affiliation, mailing address, phone number, and the state(s) for which you would like to receive announcements.

SHORT COURSE TRAINING SKILLS AND OBJECTIVES

• Ability to identify ways of increasing and enhancing pollinator diversity on the land
• Knowledge of the current best management practices that minimize land-use impacts on pollinators
• Ability to identify bees and distinguish them from other insects
• Knowledge of the economics of insect-pollinated crops, and the effects of pollinator decline
• Knowledge of the current Farm Bill pollinator conservation provisions and how to implement those provisions through USDA programs such as WHIP, EQIP, CSP, and CRP
• Ability to assess pollinator habitat and to identify habitat deficiencies
• Ability to make recommendations to farmers and land managers that conserve pollinators (including subjects such as roadside management, tillage, pesticide use, burning, grazing, and cover cropping)
• Ability to design and implement habitat improvements, such as native plant restoration and nest site enhancements
• Ability to incorporate pollinators into land-management or policy decisions

COURSE AGENDA

9:30 – 10:15     Welcome, introduction
                            The importance of native pollinators
                            Jennifer Hopwood (Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation)

10:25 -11:10     Basic native bee biology and identification
                            Jennifer Hopwood (Xerces Society)

11:15–12:00     Pollinator-friendly farming practices
                           Jennifer Hopwood (Xerces Society)

12:00 – 1:00      Lunch. Lunch is on your own.

1:00 – 1:40       Developing new pollinator habitat
                            Farm Bill provisions for pollinators
                           Jennifer Hopwood (Xerces Society)

1:45 – 2:15      Arkansas Natural Resource Conservation Service practices for pollinators
                          Alayna Jacobs (Boonville PMC Assistant Manager)

2:15 – 2:30      Artificial domiciles for bumble bees
                          Amber Tripoli (Graduate student at the University of Arkansas)      

2:30 - 2:45       Additional resources
                           Jennifer Hopwood (Xerces Society)

2:50 – 4:00      Tour of Booneville Plant Materials Center plantings, field observations of
                           pollinators, habitat assessment
                           Randy King (Booneville Plant Materials Center, NRCS)
                           Jennifer Hopwood (Xerces Society)

Displays of pollinators and artificial bee nests will be available to look over during breaks.

Jennifer Hopwood – Midwest Pollinator Conservation Specialist
Jennifer joined the Xerces Society in 2009. She works to provide resources and training for pollinator habitat management, creation, and restoration to agricultural professionals and land managers across the Midwest. Jennifer holds a Master’s in Entomology from the University of Kansas, where her research focused on bee communities in roadside prairie plantings and prairie remnants. Jennifer’s roots extend deep in the Midwest, where she has studied pollinators in tallgrass prairie, woodlands, a research farm, and urban community gardens. Prior to joining Xerces, Jennifer taught at a community college and assisted with research examining the effects of grassland management on insects. She is enthusiastic about identifying bees, taking photographs, and being active outdoors.

GUEST SPEAKERS

Randy King - Manager, Booneville Plant Materials Center.
Randy was born and raised on a beef farm north of Charleston, Arkansas. He graduated from Charleston High School in 1974. Following graduation from the Texas Institue for Computer Programing, he worked as a Computer programmer for Sparks Regional Medical Center, in Ft. Smith, from 1975 to 1978. Randy attended the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville from 1978-1982.  He served as a Student Trainee with the USDA-Soil Conservation Service from 1979-1982.  Upon graduation from the U of A with a Bachelors degree in agronomy, he was transferred to Clarendon AR, as a Soil Conservationist where he served until 1987.  Randy served as Assistant Manager of the USDA-NRCS, Booneville Plant materials Center from 1987 thru 1988. He became Manager of the Center in 1989 and still serves in that position today. Randy’s enjoys restoring antique farm tractors and equipment. He has two beautiful daughters and he still calls Charleston, Arkansas home.

Alayna Jacob - Assistant Manage, Booneville Plant Materials Center.
Alayna holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Arizona with a major in Rangeland Ecology and Management with a minor in Plant Sciences from the University of Arizona. She has worked for the US Forest Service mapping large-scale vegetation communities in New Mexico, and has assisted in the development and testing of native grasses at the NRCS Tucson Plant Materials Center. She has also worked with landowners, federal and state land management agencies, and conservation groups as an NRCS Rangeland Management Specialist in southeastern Arizona. She relocated to Fayetteville, AR in 2010 to become a Soil Conservationist in the Washington County Field Office. She accepted a Conservation Agronomist position serving as the Booneville Plant Materials Center Assistant Manager in October 2011. She will begin a Master’s program dealing with switchgrass biofuels production at the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2012.

Amber Tripodi - Ph.D. student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Amber works with native bumble and carpenter bees as a Ph.D. student at the University of Arkansas.  In addition to assessing the conservation status of Arkansas’ native bumble bees through genetics, her work also aims to provide local farmers with tools and information that can help them to take advantage of the free pollination services of local, native bees. With the help of a grant from Southern SARE, she is conducting field trials to determine the utility of artificial bumble bee nests on small, multi-crop farms. This study will also link the seasonal cycles of bumble bee species to crop bloom times in the area in order to develop a set of locally adapted recommendations that encourage on-farm bumble bee pollination.

ABOUT THE XERCES SOCIETY

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. The Society's Pollinator Conservation Program was launched in 1996, and works with leading native pollinator ecologists to translate the latest research findings into on-the-ground conservation. More information about the Xerces Society is available at www.xerces.org.