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<td style="padding: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 12px;" bgcolor="#ffffff" height="500" valign="top" width="558"><p align="center"><span style="color: rgb(230, 120, 3); font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px;">YOLO NATURAL HERITAGE PROGRAM POLLINATOR</span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="color: rgb(230, 120, 3); font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px;">CONSERVATION STRATEGY </span></p>
<h3 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 14.0333px;" align="center">Publication Highlights Value of
Pollinator Conservation </h3>
<p><br>
For Immediate Release:
March 4, 2010 <br>
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Contact:
For information contact Scott Hoffman Black at <a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" href="mailto:sblack@xerces.org" target="_blank">sblack@xerces.org</a>
or 503-449-3792.</p>
<p>(Woodland, CA) – The Yolo Natural Heritage Program recently released the<i style="font-style: italic;"> Yolo Natural Heritage Program (HCP/NCCP) Pollinator Conservation Strategy</i>. This first-of-its-kind conservation strategy, developed by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, and funded in part with a grant from the California Department of Fish and Game, provides land managers information vital to secure the future of pollinators in Yolo County.</p>
<p>Pollinators are essential for farming and for the health of natural areas, a fact recognized by the Yolo Natural Heritage Program when it asked the Xerces Society to develop the pollinator conservation strategy. The Natural Heritage Program also recognized that pollinators add value to habitat conservation on working lands, providing a direct benefit to the landowners from habitat projects. </p>
<p>“The conservation strategy is the first in North America to address the threats and needs of pollinators in an entire county,” said Scott Black, lead author of the report and executive director of the Xerces Society. “We hope that agencies in the county will use this document to prioritize actions to conserve this important resource.” </p>
<p>“I am delighted that this study of pollinators, including their critical role in our natural world and the importance of a conservation strategy for their preservation, has been published,” said Helen Thomson, Yolo County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman and Chair of the Yolo Natural Heritage Program. “It gives additional credibility to our work on the conservation plan.”</p>
<p>Each of the six major landscapes in Yolo County—agriculture, grasslands, woodlands, shrubland and scrub, riparian and wetland, and urban and barren—are affected by threats to native pollinators. This <i style="font-style: italic;">Yolo Natural Heritage Program (HCP/NCCP) Pollinator Conservation Strategy</i> summarizes the threats facing native bees, identifies conservation measures that can be taken within Yolo County’s diverse landscapes, and forms an important component of the Natural Communities Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP/NCCP) being developed for Yolo County. The HCP/NCCP will conserve the natural open space and agricultural landscapes that provide habitat for many special status and at-risk species found within the habitats and natural communities in Yolo County.</p>
<p>“The pollinator strategy guide is a great resource for growers, gardeners and urban dwellers alike,” said Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner John Young. “By understanding the needs and capabilities of our native pollinators, we become better able to incorporate them into our societal systems from conventional farms to city landscapes.”</p>
<p>The <i style="font-style: italic;">Yolo Natural Heritage Program (HCP/NCCP) Pollinator Conservation Strategy</i> can be downloaded from the Xerces Society website, <a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" href="http://www.xerces.org/" target="_blank">www.xerces.org</a>. Also found on the website is the Pollinator Conservation Resource Center which provides access to all one needs to complete a pollinator conservation project in any region of the United States.<br>
<br>
“Whether you manage roadsides or run a farm there are actions that you can take to improve the health of pollinators,” observed Matthew Shepherd, Xerces Society senior conservation associate and co-author of the report. “Identifying and protecting floral resources can provide significant benefit to the native bees and other pollinators in Yolo County.”</p>
<p>The Yolo Natural Heritage Program, a county-wide Natural Communities Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan (<acronym>NCCP</acronym>/<acronym>HCP</acronym>), will address the conservation needs of over 65 at risk species that utilize the 653,820 acre planning area. The <acronym>NCCP</acronym>/<acronym>HCP</acronym> will conserve the natural open space and agricultural landscapes that provide habitat for many special status and at-risk species by protecting important biological resources and maintaining Yolo County's rich agricultural heritage. For more information about the Yolo Natural Heritage Program and the multi-species Yolo Habitat Conservation Plan, visit <a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" href="http://www.yoloconservationplan.org/" target="_blank">http://www.yoloconservationplan.org/</a>.</p>
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<span style="color: rgb(230, 120, 3); font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px;">ABOUT THE XERCES SOCIETY</span><br>
The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife
through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat.
Established in 1971, the Society is at the forefront of invertebrate
protection worldwide, harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the
enthusiasm of citizens to implement conservation programs. To learn
more about our work, please visit <a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" href="http://www.xerces.org/" target="_blank">www.xerces.org</a>.</p>
<p><br>
<span style="color: rgb(230, 120, 3); font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px;">PHOTO CREDIT</span><br>
by Mace Vaughan </p></td>
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