[Pollinator] Farmers work to encourage native bee habitat

[Scott Black]

From: California Farm Bureau Federation Ag Alert

<http://www.cfbf.com/agalert/AgAlertStory.cfm?ID=1147&ck=A1D50185E7426CBB0ACAD1E6CA74B9AA>http://www.cfbf.com/agalert/AgAlertStory.cfm?ID=1147&ck=A1D50185E7426CBB0ACAD1E6CA74B9AA


Farmers work to encourage native bee habitat

Issue Date: October 8, 2008

By Christine Souza
Assistant Editor

With honeybee populations weakened by disease and the mysterious 
malady known as Colony Collapse Disorder, farmers place new focus on 
work to benefit native pollinators. Decisions by farmers and ranchers 
to replace bare ground along irrigation ditches and roadways with 
native plants, trees and grasses, in order to encourage beneficial 
insects and eliminate weeds, have evolved into a movement to bring 
native bees back to the farming landscape.

Farmers in Yolo County--the epicenter of this work--have partnered 
with various organizations to lead the way in protecting populations 
of native bees and restoring native bee habitat.

"The overall goal is to increase the capacity of these farms to 
support native bees for crop pollination," Mace Vaughan said. He 
directs the Pollinator Program for the Xerces Society, a non-profit 
group dedicated to conserving invertebrate species.

"All of these growers recognize that they need the proven consistency 
of honeybees, but with honeybees under threat, people are starting to 
look for an insurance policy and part of that insurance policy is 
increasing the capacity around the farm to support native bees that 
provide that pollination service," Vaughan said.

Gio Ferrendelli, farm manager for Muller Brothers Farm and Yolo 
Vineyards, acknowledges that when he planted native plants and 
grasses at the farm several years ago, creating habitat for native 
bees was not part of his master plan.

"I really had no intention of trying to develop a wonderful 
pollinator habitat," said Ferrendelli, speaking to a diverse group of 
people during a Yolo County Field Tour of Native Bee Habitat on 
Working Lands. "My whole goal was to create a pollen source for 
beneficial predacious insects for the vineyards. Somewhere along the 
line, the Xerces Society came along and said, 'Hey, there's a lot of 
bees flying around out here.' Then it became a dual-purpose insectary."

Muller Brothers also planted a hedgerow and riparian filter/buffer 
strip between the road and a nearby slough that includes a diversity 
of shrubs and perennials with bloom periods from early spring until 
fall to support strong populations of bumblebees.

"What is unique about this site is this nearby pond that was planted 
with cottonwoods and willows probably 15 years ago. It is one of the 
undisturbed stable areas within the farm landscape and it is big 
enough that there is wild habitat there," Vaughan said. "This site 
has really been an important nesting area for bumblebees and part of 
the reason why bumblebees have been so successful here."

Muller Farm provides habitat that incorporates wooden bee blocks, a 
place where solitary female bees can lay eggs. Ferrendelli said he 
expects to continue planting natives to improve the source of pollen 
in the vineyard and increase the number of beneficial insects like 
lacewings that are natural predators for vineyard pests.

"This shows how much potential there is in all of our unused areas on 
our ranches," he added. "I had no idea, until the researchers came 
out and started cataloging everything, how many different bees there 
would be flying around out here."

Yolo County walnut farmer Craig McNamara, owner of Sierra Farms, has 
opened his farm to research and to serve as the headquarters for the 
Center for Land-Based Learning, the Audubon California Landowner 
Stewardship Program and the Xerces Society California Pollinator 
Program office. For about five years, McNamara has partnered with 
these groups to restore native bee habitat on his property as well as 
serve as a primary location for outreach programs for growers and students.

"We've carved out a 40-acre piece of land dedicated to the work that 
Audubon, Center for Land-Based Learning, Xerces Society and others 
are focused on. What we're really trying to do is have something that 
is flowering all year long," McNamara said. "The proximity of having 
a hedgerow is very important for our active plantation of organic walnuts."

Mary Kimball, director for the Center for Land-Based Learning, said 
she began the project at Sierra Farms by planting hedgerows 
predominantly for insectary and wildlife value.

"Back in the late 1990s and in early 2000, we really weren't thinking 
so much about pollinators, we were thinking more about beneficial 
insects," Kimball said. "So the majority of the plants that were put 
in, it just so happened to be good for pollinators as well."

The hedgerow offers a variety of shrubs and perennials that provide 
an extensive bloom period and a tailwater pond area planted with a 
mix of grasses and forbs for plenty of bumblebee nesting sites. Over 
the years, high school students from throughout the state planted 
much of the native bee habitat at Sierra Farms, Kimball said, through 
programs with the goal of introducing them to sustainable agriculture 
and wildlife-friendly farming.

At the nearby Butler Farm, on property leased by Bruce Rominger for 
crops such as tomatoes, wheat and sunflowers, he and the property 
owner partnered with the research groups to enhance native bee 
populations by adding to existing riparian habitat.

"Over 15 years ago, we started planting hedgerows and native plants 
around fields that we have, trying to attract beneficial insects and 
control weeds. We are very interested in not just the native 
pollinator part of it, but the beneficial insect part of this 
project," Rominger said. "In five years, this is going to be a 
spectacular riparian zone. We are happy to be a part of this project."

Rominger planted a hedgerow between the road and a stabilized ditch 
featuring a wide variety of shrubs and perennials, resulting in a 
long bloom period to support a variety of bee species. Native grasses 
that serve as bumblebee nesting sites are also part of the project.

"We are balancing the goals and objectives of the landowner, farmer 
or rancher, with what we'd like to see in habitat restoration. It 
needs to make sense from the farmer's point of view and that means 
making sense from the economic bottom line," said Vance Russell, 
program director of the Audubon California Landowner Stewardship Program.

Claire Kremen, University of California, Berkeley, assistant 
professor of environmental science, policy and management, has been 
sampling bee species in Yolo County for more than 10 years and has 
found that about 300 native bee species exist within the county.

According to researchers associated with these projects, there are 
about 1,500 native bee species found throughout California. Having 
studied newly planted native bee habitat along the edges of farmland, 
near roadsides and adjacent to sloughs, Vaughan said, researchers are 
currently recording the types of native bees that have been found.

One farmer who has been described as a pioneer in creating native bee 
habitat on farmland is John Anderson of Hedgerow Farms, who first 
became interested in habitat restoration in the late 1970s. Over the 
years, he built a native seed and plant propagation business to help 
farmers bring natural habitat to their own operations.

"I got interested in native grasses and grasslands, realizing that 
once grasses are in place it will keep out weeds," he said.

Years ago, Anderson said, he realized that he had to make some 
changes after he became aware that he was losing nine tons of 
sediment per acre.

"That alone was worth doing it (planting native habitat), but then 
the wildlife value is unbelievable," Anderson said. "This area was 
planted in 1990 and now we have a riparian oasis."

To learn more about programs offered to enhance native bee habitat, 
go to 
<http://www.xerces.org/Pollinator_Insect_Conservation/California_ag_pollinator_project.html>www.xerces.org. 
To learn about conservation cost-share programs through the 2008 Farm 
Bill, go to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources 
Conservation Service Web site at 
<http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2008/index.html>www.nrcs.usda.gov.

[]

Yolo County diversified farmer Bruce Rominger has planted a wide 
variety of shrubs and perennials, resulting in a long bloom period to 
support a variety of bee species. Native grasses that serve as 
bumblebee nesting sites are also part of the project.


(Christine Souza is a reporter for Ag Alert. She may be contacted at 
<mailto:csouza at cfbf.com>csouza at cfbf.com.)

Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the 
California Farm Bureau Federation when reprinting this item. Top



*************************
Scott Hoffman Black
Ecologist/Entomologist
Executive Director
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
4828 SE Hawthorne
Portland, OR 97215
Direct line (503) 449-3792
sblack at xerces.org

The Xerces Society is an international, nonprofit organization that 
protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat.

To join the Society, make a contribution, or read about our work,
please visit <http://www.xerces.org/>www.xerces.org.


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