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Our Services

Endangered species field work - Xerces Society
Bumble bee restrained temporarily to allow it to be identified and photographed before being released. (Photo: Xerces Society / Candace Fallon)

The Xerces Society is a trusted source for science-based information and advice and plays a leading role in promoting the conservation of pollinators and many other invertebrates. We collaborate with people and institutions at all levels and our work to protect bees, butterflies, freshwater mussels and other invertebrates encompasses all landscapes. Our team draws together experts from the fields of habitat restoration, entomology, plant ecology, education, farming, and conservation biology with a single passion: Protecting the life that sustains us.

The Society’s team of scientists and biologists offers decades of experience working with rare and at-risk terrestrial and aquatic insects and mollusks, and provides technical expertise in insect conservation to both the public and private sectors. Our staff has collaborated with a wide range of federal and state agencies, tribes, regional governments, research universities, and nonprofits, and maintains productive working relationships with the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and state fish and wildlife agencies.

Please contact us if you would like to hire us or need technical assistance. 

The services we provide include:

 

Monitoring 

We develop survey protocols and guidance for public agencies to facilitate monitoring of at-risk invertebrate species and their habitats. 

  • Xerces conservation biologists have conducted surveys to document the distribution, phenology, life history, and abundance of rare and imperiled insect species, including butterflies, bees, beetles aquatic and terrestrial snails, true bugs, and other taxa, in partnership with the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and other federal and state agencies. 

  • Identifying and curating invertebrate species

  • We engage in longer-term projects to monitor the effectiveness of pollinator habitat restoration projects. Two such projects in Portland, OR, include a large-scale grassland restoration project by the Port of Portland and the restoration of a powerline corridor that runs through Forest Park. 

  • We facilitate community science projects to gather species occurrence data to further conservation.

 

Trainings

The Xerces Society's conservation biologists provide trainings to local, regional, state, and federal government agency staff. 

  • We present workshops on bee and butterfly identification, monitoring, and habitat management, as well as trainings on other taxa.

  • We provide trainings on our regional community science bee monitoring protocols to facilitate pollinator monitoring efforts.

  • We train land managers how to manage habitat for monarch butterflies, imperiled bumble bees, and other taxa.

  • We show educators how to use our community science program Bumble Bee Watch to teach young people about pollinator ecology. 

 

Conservation Planning

Xerces conservation biologists routinely work with a wide range land owners and land managers to support their conservation efforts.

  • We develop habitat management guidance for broad landscapes and land uses that enables land managers to consider the needs of at-risk species or groups like pollinators when managing habitat.

  • We develop site-specific management plans for at risk species, and site specific restoration plans.

  • We prepare Conservation Activity Plans for pollinators and beneficial insects on farms and within other landscapes.