[Pollinator] Helping pollinators on the road to survival

[Matthew Shepherd]

Hi everyone,



Yesterday, the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
issued a memo
<https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/ecosystems/vegmgmt_pollinators_improving_habitat.asp>
regarding
the pollinator provisions in section 1415 of the Fixing America’s Surface
Transportation Act, and announcing the release of “Pollinators and
Roadsides: Best Management Practices for Managers and Decision Makers.” The
report can be read at:
https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/ecosystems/Pollinators_Roadsides/BMPs_pollinators_roadsides.asp.
You can also download a PDF from that web page.



The best management practices were written by staff of ICF International
<http://www.icfi.com/> and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
<http://www.xerces.org/>, under contract with the FHWA. This report is the
second document produced by these two organizations for the FHWA. The first
was a comprehensive literature review of peer-reviewed and technical
material, which was released in May 2015. The literature review is also
available on the FHWA website, at
https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/ecosystems/documents/pollinators_BMPs_in_highway_ROW.asp
.



Declines of bees and butterflies have focused attention on efforts to help
pollinators through habitat restoration and habitat management. 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.



The value of America’s roadsides for pollinators was underscored by
the *National
Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators*,
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.



Roadside vegetation can provide much needed habitat for pollinators,
providing food, shelter, and connections to other patches of habitat.
Roadside managers, maintenance staff, and landscape designers can all take
steps to improve the quality of roadside vegetation to benefit pollinators,
steps that can also reduce costs, maintain public safety, and improve
public good will.



To learn more about pollinators and roadsides, read the article, “Pollinator
Conservation at Sixty Miles an Hour
<http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/Wings_Spring2015.pdf>,”
which was published in the spring 2015 issue of our magazine, *Wings.
Essays on Invertebrate Conservation*.





________



*Matthew Shepherd*

Communications Director



*[image: Xerces-logo-CMYK-email_Outlook]*



*Protecting the Life that Sustains Us*



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628 NE Broadway, Ste 200, Portland, OR 97232-1324, USA

Tel: (503) 232-6639 ext. 110; Toll free: 1-855-232 6639 ext. 110; Cell:
(503) 807-1577

matthew.shepherd at xerces.org
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