Few are aware of the federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service program allowing insecticide spraying on millions of acres in 17 western states as part of a short-term, and short-sighted, means of curtailing native grasshopper and Mormon cricket numbers. This threatens insects, including pollinators, which contribute services valued at more than $70 billion per year to the U.S. economy, according to a recent study. Greater sage-grouse, monarch butterflies, western bumblebees, and other species inhabiting western lands are already in steep decline and extremely vulnerable to further harm from the APHIS pesticide spraying. Also troubling, APHIS’s program lacks transparency, failing to disclose where pesticides have been sprayed. Join Sharon Selvaggio with Xerces' pesticide team together with allies from the Center from Biological Diversity and Advocates for the West to learn more about this issue and what Xerces is doing about it. Webinar hosted as part of Advocate's Voices for the West series.

Click here to learn more and register today 


Sharon Selvaggio 
Pesticide Program Specialist - Park, Nurseries, and Natural Areas Lead - The Xerces Society
Sharon assists Xerces staff, partners, and the public to reduce reliance on pesticides and understand pesticide risk to invertebrates. Sharon previously worked at Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service, and integrates her focus on pesticides with her experience managing natural areas and agricultural lands. Sharon earned a Master of Science in energy and resources and a Bachelor of Arts in biology, both from the University of California, Berkeley. Sharon spends a lot of time in her vegetable garden, which has an always-buzzing insectary/pollinator patch, and she is a frequent visitor to the Pacific northwest's wildlands for recreation.

Join Kaitlin Haase from the Xerces Society at the Agri-Nature Center for a presentation on gardening for pollinators in Albuquerque. Kaitlin will discuss which native plants support New Mexico's diverse pollinator species and provide guidance on how to create a pollinator-friendly landscape. After the presentation, the group will head outside for a short pollinator walk to observe and identify pollinators and habitat elements on the farm.

Learn more and register here today! 


Kaitlin Haase - Southwest Pollinator Conservation Specialist - The Xerces Society 
As the Southwest Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Kaitlin works to create climate-resilient, connected pollinator habitat in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. She collaborates with and educates public and private urban land managers in New Mexico and the desert Southwest on pollinator-friendly practices for landscaping, gardening, and open space restoration. She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Northern Arizona University, where she studied impacts of drying on aquatic invertebrate diversity in natural and human-made ponds. Before graduate school, she worked as an ecological science technician in a variety of systems across the US, including predator-prey ecology in Michigan, riparian restoration in Virginia, and rare species monitoring in Massachusetts.

Beetles are one of the most diverse groups of insects on the planet and are endlessly fascinating. Join Jennifer Hopwood, Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation to learn more about how beetles are helping us in myriad ways: contributing to soil health, controlling crop and garden pests, pollinating plants, and more. This event is co-hosted by Jessica Harold of the Ada Soil and Water Conservation District, j[email protected]. This event is open to the general public. 

Register here today! 


Jennifer Hopwood - Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Midwest - The Xerces Society 
Jennifer provides resources and training for pollinator and beneficial insect habitat management and restoration in a variety of landscapes. She oversees a team of four USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service partner biologists and works closely with the NRCS. Jennifer has authored a number of publications and articles, and is co-author of several books, including Farming with Native Beneficial Insects, 100 Plants to Feed the Bees, and a roadside revegetation manual. Jennifer has a master's degree in entomology from the University of Kansas. Along with work as a research specialist conducting invertebrate field research and identification, Jennifer was an instructor in biology and environmental science at Iowa State University and Des Moines Area Community College prior to joining Xerces in 2009.

Grasslands in Colorado, and elsewhere, are rapidly disappearing. Grasslands provide critical habitat for a variety of wildlife, including pollinators and other invertebrates. Join Xerces Biologists Ray Moranz and Rae Powers to learn about the ecological and social value of rangelands, management practices to support pollinators, and critical actions to maintain native plant diversity on rangelands.

No registration required. Click here to join the webinar! This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed captions will be available during this webinar.



Ray Moranz - Grazing Lands Pollinator Ecologist, Partner Biologist for the NRCS Central National Technology Support Center - The Xerces Society 
Ray works to conserve pollinators on rangelands in the central U.S., and he also serves as a Partner Biologist to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Central National Technology Support Center in Fort Worth, TX. He is based at the NRCS Field Office in Stillwater, Oklahoma. One focus of his work is to assist in the planning and implementation of monarch butterfly conservation efforts in the south central U.S.. Ray began studying the effects of fire and grazing on prairie plant and butterfly communities in 2004, and earned his Ph.D. in natural resource ecology and management from Oklahoma State University in 2010. Prior to joining the Xerces Society, he worked for The Nature Conservancy in Florida, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in California, Iowa State University, and Oklahoma State University.

 
RaeAnn Powers - Farm Bill Pollinator Conservation Planner - The Xerces Society
Rae is a Nebraska native with a bachelor's of science in environmental studies and a master's of science in ecology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Her previous environmental work has focused on the function and diversity of the prairie ecosystem; researching the impacts of restoration, management, and soils; and experiencing the joys and trials of native plant production. Currently, Rae works with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) staff and landowners in Nebraska and South Dakota to create and protect pollinator habitat using farm bill programs. Her environmental work has taken her to the shores of Alaska with the National Wildlife Refuge system, the lakes of northern Minnesota as a canoe guide, and, most recently, to the wide prairies of Midwest. Her time with the Nebraska Natural Heritage program exposed her to the array of rare and endangered species found in grassland ecosystems, and her work with The Nature Conservancy and the native seed farm Prairie Legacy, Inc. focused on the function and diversity of the mixed-grass prairie. When she’s not out in the field, Rae can often be found reading library books, at the dog park, or planting wildflowers in the front yard.