<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 14 (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: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;}
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana;
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";}
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.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
span.BalloonTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Balloon Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text";
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@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="1026" />
</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><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><img width=145 height=90 id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image001.gif@01CE9474.8D954410" alt=oregonlive.com></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>After Wilsonville, Hillsboro bee deaths, Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District looks to create pollinator haven<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><img width=367 height=238 id=undefined src="cid:image002.jpg@01CE9474.8D954410" alt="25,000 bumblebees killed in Wilsonville"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><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><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>25,000 bumblebees killed in Wilsonville<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>A dead bumblebee clings to a linden tree on June 18 in a Wilsonville parking lot. The Oregon Department of Agriculture has determined they were killed by Safari, a pesticide used to control aphids. <i>(Motoya Nakamura/The Oregonian)</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Anna Marum, The Oregonian </span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>By <b>Anna Marum, The Oregonian </b><br><br><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Email the author</span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> | <b>Follow on Twitter</b> <br>on August 01, 2013 at 1:21 PM, updated August 01, 2013 at 1:37 PM <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>When conservation biologist Richard Hatfield arrived at a Target parking lot in Wilsonville on June 17, he was horrified. The ground under several linden trees was littered with dead bees, and as he stood amid the carcasses, more bees dropped from the trees. Upon hitting the ground, some crawled around, twitching, until they eventually stopped, dead. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>"I was just shocked," Hatfield said. "I had never seen anything like that before." </span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>June was a bad month for Oregon bees. First, <b>an estimated 50,000 bees died</b> in that parking lot after trees were sprayed with Safari, an insecticide used to control aphids. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Then, just days later, <b>hundreds of bees were found dead</b> under a linden tree in downtown Hillsboro. The tree also had been treated with Safari, though the Oregon Department of Agriculture has not yet confirmed the cause of the Hillsboro bee deaths. The agency has issued <b>a six-month restriction</b> on 18 insecticides that contain dinotefuran, the active ingredient in Safari. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>These two local incidents are, of course, just stark examples of a growing problem. Bee populations around the world are in danger – two species of North American bumblebees may have already died off, and experts say the ripple effect of extinctions will become powerful if something isn't done to reverse the trend. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>"We're potentially losing some of the pieces, and once we lose enough pieces, we'll start to see real problems in how these ecosystems function," said Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Portland-based <b>Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Fewer pollinators lead to a decrease in food-supply stability, as well as a drop in the abundance and diversity of many vegetables and animals, Black said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><img width=1 height=1 id="Picture_x0020_5" src="cid:image003.gif@01CE9474.8D954410" alt=PollinatorProject></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Bruce Barbarasch, superintendent of natural resources and trails management for the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District, examines a snowberry plant. The snowberry will be included in the pollinator habitat at Rock Creek Greenway.Anna Marum/Beaverton Leader <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>One answer to the problem: special habitats, such as the carefully planned pollinator Eden that the<b> Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District </b>has in the works at Rock Creek Greenway in the Bethany area. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The habitat</span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>, scheduled to be completed by 2016, is the park district's first attempt to create a diverse space that particularly caters to the needs of bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators. Park district officials consulted with the Xerces Society in planning the project. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>With bee populations declining, projects like this one are "unequivocally" more important than ever, said Black. These special habitats, along with more natural flowering plants in backyard gardens, may be enough to keep local pollinator populations strong, he said. "Providing a pesticide-free quality habitat will go a long way in helping these animals," he said. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The project at <b>Rock Creek Greenway</b>, located at the corner of Northwest 185th Avenue and Northwest West Union Road, is run by the park district's <b>Natural Resources department</b>. The two-acre portion of the greenway set aside for the project is covered with grass and weeds, and small trees and shrubs line the nearby Springville Creek. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><img width=1 height=1 id="Picture_x0020_6" src="cid:image003.gif@01CE9474.8D954410" alt=Beeandaster></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>A long-horned bee forages on an aster. Asters, which are late-blooming, are on the list of wildflowers to be planted in the pollinator habitat at Rock Creek Greenway. Matthew Shepherd/Xerces Society Matthew Shepherd/Xerces Society <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Janelle St. Pierre of the park district is the project leader. She said the habitat plan calls for the removal of non-native grasses, replacing them with annual and perennial species, including wildflowers like lupine, aster, goldenrod and checkermallow, as well as other wildflowers and native bunch grasses. The new haven would also include native shrubs, brush and rock piles to provide homes and nests for various pollinators, she said. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Black of the Xerces Society said his organization works with farmers, gardeners and land managers to protect invertebrates, which he said are the underpinning of all life on the planet. He pointed out that without insects, fish and birds wouldn't exist. Plus, without pollinators, Black said, humans would be limited to a very poor diet, made up primarily of rice, wheat and corn. Even meat would be limited because animals indirectly rely on pollinators for food. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Bees are the best pollinators, Black said, because they visit more flowers than any other pollinator, collecting pollen to feed to their young. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>In light of the bee deaths in Wilsonville and Hillsboro, as well as the overall, worldwide difficulty bees are having, pollinator projects are more important than ever, Black said. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>"I think that the neat thing about projects like (Rock Creek Greenway)," he said, "is that with pollinators, unlike with polar bears or lions or tigers, pretty much everyone can do something about it." <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>-- Anna Marum<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><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 style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>© 2013 OregonLive.com. All rights reserved.<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><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>_______<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Scott Hoffman Black<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Executive Director<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Chair<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> IUCN Butterfly Specialist Group<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>628 NE Broadway, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97232, USA<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="https://webmail.integra.net/src/compose.php?send_to=sblack%40xerces.org"><span style='color:blue'>sblack@xerces.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Tel: (503) 232-6639 ext. 101<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Toll free: 1-855-232-6639 ext. 101<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Cell: (503) 449-3792<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Connect with Xerces:</span><br><b><span style='color:red'><a href="http://www.xerces.org/" target="_blank"><span style='color:red;text-decoration:none'>xerces.org</span></a></span></b><span style='color:#1F497D'> </span><b><span style='color:#17365D'><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Xerces-Society/193182577358618" target="_blank"><span style='color:#17365D;text-decoration:none'>Facebook</span></a></span></b><span style='color:#1F497D'> </span><b><span style='color:#984806'><a href="http://www.xerces.org/enewsletters/" target="_blank"><span style='color:#984806;text-decoration:none'>E-newsletter</span></a></span></b><span style='color:#1F497D'> </span><b><span style='color:#0070C0'><a href="https://twitter.com/xerces_society" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue;text-decoration:none'>Twitter</span></a></span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>To join the Society, make a contribution, or read about our work, please visit <a href="http://www.xerces.org/"><span style='color:blue'>www.xerces.org</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Buy our best-selling book:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.xerces.org/announcing-the-publication-of-attracting-native-pollinators/"><span style='color:blue'>Attracting Native Pollinators. Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies</span></a></span></i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>