[Pollinator] Watershed Association Spotlights Native Pollinators

[Ladadams at aol.com]

Watershed Association Spotlights Native Pollinators
by Jim Waltman, Executive Director / Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed  
Association  
Monday July 27, 2009, 10:25 AM

The headlines say it all. From white-nose syndrome decimating bat  
populations, to colony collapse disorder affecting honeybees nationwide, you  don't 
have to look to far to realize our pollinators are facing serious threats.  
But while the news is grim, there's one point of light on the horizon.  
Research by scientists like Dr. Rachael Winfree of Rutgers University is 
showing  that some of our native pollinators are more than capable of picking up 
the  slack - if we can provide them with the right habitat to thrive.  
The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association - central  New Jersey's 
first environmental group - will be exploring the important role of  our native 
pollinators in a special 60th Anniversary event _"Bees to Butterflies:  
Native Pollinators of NJ" _ (http://www.thewatershed.org/home_calendar.php) on 
Thursday, August 13 at 7 p.m. at the Watershed  Reserve in Hopewell 
Township. 
Photo by: Gwen McNamaraNationally  recognized bee researcher Dr. Rachael 
Winfree and Tim Dunne of the U.S.  Department of Agriculture Natural Resource 
Conservation Service hunt for native  pollinators at the Stony 
Brook-Millstone Watershed Association's grassland  restoration area in Hopewell NJ. 
A preview to the _Watershed  Association's _ (http://www.thewatershed.org/) 
_9th Annual  Butterfly Festival _ 
(http://www.thewatershed.org/events/butterfly2009.html) on Saturday Aug. 15, _Dr. Winfree _ 
(http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/winfree.htm) will join  _Tim Dunne _ 
(http://www.nj.nrcs.usda.gov/news/ourpurpose/employees.html) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 
Natural Resource Conservation  Service, and _Jess Niederer _ 
(http://www.honeybrookorganicfarm.com/) of Hopewell-based Honey Brook Organic Farm, the 
nation's largest  community-supported organic farm, to shine a light on our 
unsung native  pollinator heroes, the important work they do, and the challenges 
they face for  survival in New Jersey.  
Our pollinators include a wide range of wild creatures - from birds and 
bats,  to butterflies, moths, beetles, flies and even some land mammals and 
reptiles.  But "there's no question that bees are the most important in most 
ecosystems,"  said Dr. Winfree in an interview with National Wildlife 
Magazine.  
Unlike domesticated honeybees, imported to North America in the 1600s, the  
majority of our native bees are solitary, nesting in burrows on the ground 
or  small holes in wood instead of building hives. While conducting research 
at  sites throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including the Stony  
Brook-Millstone Watershed Association's 860-acre Watershed Reserve, Dr. Winfree  
found that native bees in her research area are already providing a great 
deal  of pollination - a great back-up plan as European honeybee populations 
decline  due to colony collapse disorder. 
To learn more about what we can do to ensure our native pollinators can  
continue to thrive and how farmers are taking advantage of their "services," 
be  sure to attend the Watershed Association's "Bees to Butterflies: Native  
Pollinators of NJ" panel discussion at 7 p.m. on Thursday Aug. 13 in the 
Irving  B. Kingsford Community Room at the Watershed Reserve, 31 Titus Mill 
Road,  Pennington NJ. Space is limited and registration required. Call (609) 
737-3735  x10.  
About the Watershed Association
The Stony  Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, a not-for-profit 
organization, protects  the 265-square-mile region drained by the Stony Brook and 
Millstone River - an  area spanning 26 towns and five counties. Founded in 
1949, the Watershed  Association is central New Jersey's first environmental 
group protecting clean  water and the environment through conservation, 
advocacy, science and  education. _www.thewatershed.org_ 
(http://www.thewatershed.org) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





Laurie Davies Adams
Executive  Director
Pollinator Partnership 
423 Washington Street, 5th  floor
San Francisco, CA  94111
415-362-1137
LDA at pollinator.org

_www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 

_www.nappc.org_ (http://www.nappc.org/) 

National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2009. 
Beecome  involved at _www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 
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