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<P>TRAVERSE CITY -- Landowners in several northern Michigan counties are
eligible for financial incentives for creating habitats for native pollinators
through a new program in the federal 2008 Farm Bill.</P>
<P>The new Conservation Reserve Program aims to create 2,500 acres of pollinator
habitat in 22 western Lower Michigan counties including Benzie, Grand Traverse,
Charlevoix, Emmet, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee and Wexford. </P>
<P>Landowners may receive 90 to 100 percent of the cost for converting crop land
into wildlife habitat, and receive rental payments for the land for 10 to 15
years.</P>
<P>"There has been a documented decline in many native pollinators such as
bumblebees," said Lynn Sampson, a biologist for the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. "The decline of eastern honeybees due to colony collapse disorder
has been a wake-up call to the importance of pollinators to our food
supply."</P>
<P>The program requires a minimum two-acre habitat plot at least 100 feet wide
planted with a variety of grasses, flowers and flowering shrubs. </P>
<P>More information is available from the local USDA office at (231)
941-0951.</P></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face="Gill Sans MT" size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR>Laurie Davies Adams<BR>Executive Director<BR><B>Pollinator
Partnership </B><BR>423 Washington Street, 5th floor<BR>San Francisco, CA
94111<BR>415-362-1137<BR>LDA@pollinator.org</FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial
color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#0000ff size=4 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="14"><B><A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></B></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"></B><BR><A
href="http://www.nappc.org/">www.nappc.org</A><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="12"><B><I>National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2009. <BR>Beecome
involved at <A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></I></FONT></B></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget? <A title="http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017" href="http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017" target="_blank">Read reviews on AOL Autos</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>