<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
p.MsoBodyTextIndent, li.MsoBodyTextIndent, div.MsoBodyTextIndent
{mso-style-link:"Body Text Indent Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
font-weight:bold;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoAcetate, li.MsoAcetate, div.MsoAcetate
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
span.BodyTextIndentChar
{mso-style-name:"Body Text Indent Char";
mso-style-link:"Body Text Indent";
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
font-weight:bold;}
span.BalloonTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Balloon Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text";
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle21
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
span.xn-person
{mso-style-name:xn-person;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="2050" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-1.0in'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>August 29, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-1.0in'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-1.0in'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Contacts: Scott Hoffman Black, Executive Director: 503-449-3792<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Eric Mader, Assistant Pollinator Conservation Director: 503-989-3649 <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-variant:small-caps'>Pollinator Conservation Project Awarded $1 million USDA Grant<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Scientists from the Xerces Society, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, University of Minnesota and Rutgers will work to create habitat for pollinators on farms<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Portland, Ore.--- Last Friday </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Agriculture Secretary <span class=xn-person>Tom Vilsack</span> announced that the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, along with collaborating bee researchers, will receive a $997,815 USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grant to improve pollinator habitat on farms and ranches across the U.S. </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Through this project the researchers and conservationists hope to answer questions such as how to best manage wildflower meadows on the edge of farms as long term pollinator habitat, how to control weeds in such pollinator meadows using organic techniques, and how to quantify the effectiveness of various types of flowers in supporting crop-pollinating wild bees and honey bees. Another part of the project will work with native plant nurseries to mass-produce wildflower seed for plants with high pollen and nectar value that are not currently available among the nursery industry. </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The project builds upon earlier field-testing by the project partners to see if restored natural habitat created next to cropland could help struggling bee populations by providing additional pollen and nectar sources and refuge from pesticides.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Participating farms, research sites, and native plant nurseries are located in California, Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Florida, Wyoming, Montana, Indiana and Texas. </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Along with t</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>he Xerces Society, project partners include Dr. Claire Kremen (University of California Berkeley), Dr. Neil Williams (University of California Davis), Dr. Marla Spivak (University of Minnesota) and Dr. Rachael Winfree (Rutgers University). Drs. Kremen and Spivak both received prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Awards for their previous work on pollinator ecology. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Background</span></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The ecological service provided by pollinators is necessary for the reproduction of nearly 85% of the world’s flowering plants. This includes more than 2/3rds of the world’s crop species. The fruits, seeds and livestock forage produced by pollinators provides over 30% of the food that we consume. The annual value of insect-pollinated crops in the United States was estimated to be $20 billion in 2000. </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Honey bees are the most familiar pollinator in the U.S., yet the number of managed honey bee hives has declined by 50% since 1950. Each year, the beekeeping industry loses more than 30% of hives due to disease, parasites, pesticides and lack of floral resources. New research suggests that diverse wildflower plantings may improve honey bee health, including disease-resistance. A growing body of research also demonstrates that native bees make a significant contribution to crop pollination—in some cases providing all of the pollination needed when enough habitat is available. Today, habitat supporting all pollinators (native bees and honey bees) is more important than ever. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>About the Xerces Society<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoBodyTextIndent><span lang=X-NONE style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black;font-weight:normal'>The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (named after the extinct Xerces blue butterfly) is an international nonprofit organization that works to protect invertebrate wildlife. The organization’s Pollinator Conservation Program partners with farmers and farm agencies to restore habitat for native crop-pollinating bees. Xerces is based in Portland, Oregon and has offices in California, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey and North Carolina.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>________<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>Matthew Shepherd<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal>Communications Director<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal>628 NE Broadway, Ste 200, Portland, OR 97232-1324, USA<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#0070C0'><a href="mailto:mdshepherd@xerces.org"><span style='color:#0070C0'>mdshepherd@xerces.org</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Tel: (503) 232-6639 ext. 110<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Toll free: 1-855-232 6639 ext. 110<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Cell: (503) 807-1577<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Fax: (503) 233-6794<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Connect with Xerces via Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Xerces-Society/193182577358618"><span style='text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=16 height=16 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01CD860F.943A69E0" alt="FB_icon_small"></span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>To join the Society, make a donation, or read about our work, please visit <span style='color:#0070C0'><a href="http://www.xerces.org/"><span style='color:#0070C0'>www.xerces.org</span></a></span>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>