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--></style></head><body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background:white">Hi everyone,</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background:white"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background:white">The </span></span>Federal Highway Administration<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background:white"> has just released new guidelines for managing roadside vegetation for pollinators</span></span>.<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background:white"> <i>Roadside Best Management Practices that Benefit Pollinators: Handbook for Supporting Pollinators through Roadside Maintenance and Landscape Design</i> is available on the FHWA website, either to read on the site or download as a PDF.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background:white"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/ecosystems/Pollinators_Roadsides/BMPs_pollinators_landscapes.asp"><span style="background:white">https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/ecosystems/Pollinators_Roadsides/BMPs_pollinators_landscapes.asp</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background:white"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The document was written by staff of ICF International and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, under contract with the Federal Highway Administration. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The best management practices provide concrete steps that can be taken by any roadside management agency to improve roadside vegetation for pollinators. The BMPs cover management of existing habitat, including ways to modify the use of mowing and herbicides to enhance roadsides, and methods to incorporate native plants and pollinator habitat into the design of new roadsides. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">These BMPs are the third document produced by these two organizations for the FHWA. The other reports—comprehensive literature reviews of peer-reviewed and technical material, and guidance for policy makers—are also available from the FHWA website.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">With an estimated 17 million acres of roadsides in the care of state transportation agencies in the United States, managing roadsides is a significant conservation opportunity for pollinators. Roadsides form an extensive network of habitats that crisscross our landscapes. In many areas, particularly urban and intensely farmed regions, roadsides may provide the only natural or semi-natural habitat.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The value of America’s roadsides for pollinators was underscored by the <i>National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators</i>, released by the White House in 2015. In outlining ways to address the decline of pollinators across the United States, the strategy included a specific directive to improve habitat on roadside rights-of-way. Since then, the FHWA has taken great strides to guide efforts to protect pollinators and their habitats on roadsides. The Xerces Society and ICF International are proud to support these efforts.<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Matthew</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">----------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Matthew Shepherd</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Communications Director</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><img border="0" width="128" height="48" style="width:1.3333in;height:.5in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D1FA02.E23C5B60" alt="Xerces-logo-CMYK-email_Outlook"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Protecting the Life That Sustains Us</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Connect: <a href="http://www.xerces.org/">www.xerces.org</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/xerces.society/">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/xercessociety">Twitter</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/xercessociety/?hl=en">Instagram</a> <a href="http://www.xerces.org/blog/">Blog</a> <a href="https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001HTk7N6nZumLPinBr8VACbNdTXCe732bGu6KpqC13JAKPti_HBe5xyr7t0p4mDfKe2dOsd-TB1qvv772s6GQfVa_SbKKfwBiwl4blH4KvCjq4dpmA2M9UNZ2axlQwu_1Gvjrl2Rb53WUZwsddwCzyorgxedLAaMy3">E-newsletter</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">628 NE Broadway, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97232, USA</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Office: (503) 232-6639 x110</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Cell: (503) 807-1577</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><a href="mailto:matthew.shepherd@xerces.org">matthew.shepherd@xerces.org</a> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></body></html>