Here's a glimpse of some
of the projects that we will be
working on this year.
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With the cake eaten and the decorations packed away, the celebrations around Xerces 40th anniversary are now fond memories. We're now looking ahead to a busy year as we build on the successes of past years and continue to strive to fulfill the expectations of our partners and supporters. Here are some highlights of what will we be working on in 2012.
Our aquatic staff, Celeste Mazzacano and Michele Blackburn, will be focusing on the Migratory Dragonfly Partnership, a collaborative effort among government agencies, academic institutions, and nonprofits across Mexico, USA, and Canada working to better understand and protect dragonfly migration in North America. Xerces will coordinate the partnership as it establishes a network of citizen scientist monitors to track the spring and fall migration  of dragonflies. This includes producing a field guide to North America's migratory dragonflies and developing and presenting a series of training courses for monitors in Canada and the US. The partnership will also be building the capacity of partners in Mexico to track and identify migrating dragonflies.
In addition to this work, we'll continue our outreach, education, and surveying work to protect freshwater mussels, and will publish guidelines for ecologically sound mosquito management.
During 2012, our endangered species team - Sarina Jepsen, Sarah Foltz Jordan, Carly Voight, and our newest staff member, Rich Hatfield - will continue long-term projects to protect tiger beetles, butterflies, and stoneflies, while also ramping up our efforts to protect wild bumble bees. Our citizen scientists are helping to identify where at-risk bumble bee species are still found in North America, information that supported a status review and petition for their protection and continues to inform conservation activities. This ye ar, we will work with land managers to develop conservation plans to protect imperiled bumble bees on their property. Xerces is also continuing its leadership role in the IUCN Bumblebee Specialist Group, which is working to understand and protect bumble bees worldwide.
Another major component of our endangered species work is our partnership with the ISSSSP, a consortium made up of the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. We are providing information, assessing threats and conservation concerns, conducting surveys, and developing management recommendations for hundreds of rare invertebrate species on public lands in the Pacific Northwest. This work has led to additional species being protected, and to changes in public land management.
BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION
Xerces also has a two-part project to conserve monarch butterflies. The first part focuses on overwintering sites in coastal California. Carly Voight is monitoring monarch populations, working with monarch scientists to develop management recommendations for these locations, providin g volunteer workshops, and working with lawyers to complete a review of laws that govern the protection of monarch overwintering habitat. This project has grown from the fantastic work of Mia Monroe and many other volunteers, who have been counting overwintering monarchs since the 1990s. The second part is to encourage the large-scale planting of locally native milkweeds as breeding habitat for monarchs. Our plant ecologist, Brianna Borders, is working with native plant specialists in six states to mass produce milkweeds for seed production and distribute that seed to land managers for planting.
POLLINATOR CONSERVATION
Finally, our pollinator program is gearing up for another busy summer presenting highly acclaimed short courses across the country and will continue to work with government agencies and farmers to create and manage pollinator habitat. Under the leadership of Mace Vaughan and Eric Mader, this program now has field staff four states - Jessa Guisse (California), Jennifer Hopwood (Michigan), Jolie Goldenetz-Dollar (New Jersey), and Nancy Adamson (North Carolina) - each of whom manage regional training events and provide direct consulting to farmers and technical assistance to agency staff.
The pollinator program is especially excited about three new developments: soon-to-be-published guidelines for conservation biological control which will help farmers protect beneficial insects that prey upon crop pests and reduce the need for pesticides; a nationwide series of field trials on organic methods for habitat restoration; and the development of guidelines on pollinator conservation for organic seed producers who are concerned about contamination from nearby genetically modified crops.
To read more about what we're working on, click on any of the links in the text above. If you want to learn more about what Xerces has achieved over the past four decades, please read the most recent issue of Wings, our member magazine. Thank you for all of your support, and to the grant makers and donors who make this possible.
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| DONATE NOW TO HONOR 40 YEARS! | Your contribution goes directly to support
* innovative conservation programs
* effective education and advocacy
* scientific and popular publications |
| EVENTS | | Check out our events page to see if we will be participating in any events near you. Upcoming events include two Insectary Hedgerow Workshops:
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| JOIN OR RENEW | Don't miss out on the anniversary edition of our member magazine Wings. Become a member today to receive your copy.
For more information please visit the membership page of our website or email suzanne@xerces.org with specific questions. |
| PUBLICATIONS | Please visit our online store for books and publications on invertebrate conservation.
Check out this new article from Inside Agroforestry on how to create windbreaks that protect pollinators from pesticides. Read more.
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| NATIVE BEE CALENDAR - ON SALE |  Perpetual calendars are still on sale. Each month introduces you to a different bee genus, with a gorgeous full-page pin-up photo and notes on preferred plants and nesting needs. Read more.
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| OUR MISSION | The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. The Society has been at the forefront of invertebrate protection worldwide for forty years, harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the enthusiasm of citizens to implement conservation programs.
To learn more about our work, please visit www.xerces.org. |
| PHOTO CREDITS | Banner:
Xerces' New Jersey-based staff member. Photograph by MaryBeth Sorrentino, New Jersey NRCS.
In-Text:
Aquascoping for freshwater mussels. Photograph by Eric Griswold.
Rusty-patched bumble bee, discovered and photographed by citizen-scientist monitor Jen Knutson.
Monarch butterfly and several species of bees nectaring on showy milkweed. Photograph by John Anderson, Hedgerow Farms.
Eric Mader leads an on-farm short course in New Hampshire. Photograph by Don Keirstead, New Hampshire NRCS.
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