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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Thanks to Doug Holy of the USDA NRCS for
forwarding along this blog article on the NAPPC Symposium on Wednesday, October
20<sup>th</sup> at the Jefferson Auditorium at the USDA in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Washington</st1:City> <st1:State w:st="on">DC</st1:State></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Arial><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><a
href="http://blogs.usda.gov/2010/10/25/creating-pollinator-habitat-on-america%E2%80%99s-working-lands/">http://blogs.usda.gov/2010/10/25/creating-pollinator-habitat-on-america%E2%80%99s-working-lands/</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><font
size=5 face=Arial><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:
bold'><a
href="http://blogs.usda.gov/2010/10/25/creating-pollinator-habitat-on-america%e2%80%99s-working-lands/"
title="Permanent Link to Creating Pollinator Habitat on America’s Working Lands">Creating
Pollinator Habitat on America’s Working Lands</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Posted by <a href="http://blogs.usda.gov/author/bfrank/"
title="Posts by Sarah Graddy, Natural Resources Conservation Service">Sarah
Graddy, Natural Resources Conservation Service</a>, on October 25, 2010 at 3:25
PM <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Without pollinators
like this honey bee, there would be no apples, blueberries, strawberries,
chocolate, almonds, melons, pumpkins and many other tasty foods!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Last week I
went to a <a href="http://pollinator.org/nappc/index.html">North American
Pollinator Partnership (NAPPC)</a> symposium at the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">South</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Building</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, just off the
National Mall. <a href="http://pollinator.org/nappc/index.html">NAPPC</a> is
celebrating 10 years of existence, and the symposium made up day one of <a
href="http://pollinator.org/nappc/index.html">NAPPC’s</a> three-day,
annual conference, the focus of which this year is “Why Pollinators
Matter: Benefits, Challenges, and Outcomes.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'><a
href="http://pollinator.org/nappc/index.html">NAPPC</a> is a federation made up
of more than 120 partners, including <a href="http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/">USDA’s
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)</a>. The organization encourages
the sharing of research about pollinators, raises awareness about
pollinator-related issues and undertakes initiatives to help pollinators.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Three-fourths
of the world’s flowering plants rely on pollinators to survive.
Pollinators are a crucial component of our food supply and are key to the
existence of many other important fuel and fiber crops (like cotton). Without
pollinators like bees, butterflies, and beetles, some scientists estimate that
at least one out of every three bites of food we eat would not exist. And of
course, pollinators are an important part of healthy ecosystems.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>One
interesting presentation I saw at the symposium was <a
href="http://pollinator.org/nappc/index.html">NRCS</a> Chief Dave
White’s. He shared how our agency has contributed to the effort to ensure
the continued existence of pollinators.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>When the <a
href="http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/farmbill2008?navid=FARMBILL2008">2008
Farm Bill</a> was being crafted in the U.S. Congress, Chief White and others
ensured that pollinators and their health and habitat were accounted
for—a Farm Bill first. The idea was to increase pollinator populations by
helping farmers and ranchers create and maintain pollinator habitat nationwide.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>This meant
that farmers seeking funding from <a
href="http://pollinator.org/nappc/index.html">NRCS’</a> programs to
implement conservation programs on their land would get extra points on their
applications if they proposed including pollinator habitat in their
conservation plans.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>On these
working lands, examples of pollinator habitat include wildflower hedgerows,
wildflower plantings around the base of orchard trees, wildflowers used as a
cover crop to protect fallow land from erosion and wildflower buffers next to
rivers and wetlands to help protect water quality. <a
href="http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/">NRCS’</a> 27 <a
href="http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/">Plant Materials Centers</a> are
busy finding the best region-specific native pollinator plantings for farmers
across the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Chief White
says he is full of burgeoning confidence in the future of pollinators. With
continuing collaboration among <a href="http://pollinator.org/nappc/index.html">NAPPC</a>
partners on pollinator issues, lots of new research studies about pollinators
and growing public interest in pollinators, it’s easy to see why.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Tags: <a
href="http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/conservation/">Conservation</a>, <a
href="http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/dave-white/">Dave White</a>, <a
href="http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/dc/">DC.</a>, <a
href="http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/farm-bill/">Farm Bill</a>, <a
href="http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/nappc/">NAPPC</a>, <a
href="http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/north-american-pollinator-partnership/">North
American Pollinator Partnership</a>, <a href="http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/nrcs/">NRCS</a>,
<a href="http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/washington/">Washington</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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