Pollinator Conservation Resources: Pacific Northwest Region

(Photo: Chris Hamilton / NRCS)

Welcome to our Pollinator Conservation Resources for the Pacific Northwest! Here you'll find region-specific collections of publications, native seed vendors, and other resources to aid in planning, establishing, restoring, and maintaining pollinator habitat—as well as materials to help you learn about the species of invertebrates and native plants you might encounter. For more resources, see our Publications Library or learn about our Pollinator Conservation Program.

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Habitat Assessment

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Habitat Assessment Guide for Pollinators: Yards, Gardens, and Parks

Landscaping for pollinators is one of the easiest ways for urban, suburban, and rural residents to directly benefit local wildlife. Schoolyards, community gardens, back yards, corporate campuses, rain gardens, and neighborhood parks all have the potential to meet the most basic needs of pollinators, including protection from pesticides, and resources for foraging, nesting, and overwintering.

Habitat Assessment Guide for Pollinators: Farms and Agricultural Landscapes

This pollinator habitat assessment guide is designed for a single site on a farm or agricultural landscape.

Habitat Assessment Guide For Pollinators: Natural Areas and Rangelands

This pollinator habitat assessment guide is designed for natural areas and rangelands.

Habitat Assessment Guide for Beneficial Insects: Farms and Agricultural Landscapes

This beneficial insect habitat assessment guide is designed for a single site on a farm or agricultural landscape.

Estimated Costs to Establish Wildflower Plantings Using Chemical Fallow

This Xerces Society fact sheet provides a quick overview of the estimated costs of establishing wildflower habitat for pollinators on conventional farms.

Estimated Costs to Establish Pollinator Hedgerows

This fact sheet outlines the estimated costs of establishing hedgerow habitat for pollinators. Pollinator hedgerows are diverse linear plantings of native flowering trees, shrubs, perennial wildflowers and grasses designed to provide foraging and nesting habitat for pollinators. These estimates represent average costs of establishing hedgerows from transplants, and are derived from a series of pollinator hedgerow habitat projects throughout the United States. Actual costs vary from project to project and region to region.

Habitat Installation

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Organic Site Preparation for Wildflower Establishment

Site preparation is one of the most important and often inadequately addressed components for successfully installing pollinator habitat. These guidelines provide step-by-step instructions, helpful suggestions, and regional timelines & checklists for preparing both small and large sites.

Western Oregon & Washington Conservation Cover (327) for Pollinators

These region-specific guidelines provide in-depth practical guidance on how to install and maintain nectar- and pollen-rich habitat for pollinators in the form of wildflower meadow plantings/conservation cover (NRCS Conservation Practice 327). Seed mixes and plant recommendations are included in the appendix of each guide.

Western Oregon & Washington Hedgerow Planting (422) for Pollinators

These region-specific guidelines provide in-depth practical guidance on how to install and maintain nectar- and pollen-rich habitat for pollinators in the form of linear rows of native flowering shrubs/hedgerow plantings (NRCS Conservation Practice 422). Seed mixes and plant recommendations are included in the appendix of each guide.

Establishing Pollinator Meadows from Seed
Establishing wildflower habitat for pollinators is the single most effective course of action to conserve pollinators that can be taken by anyone at any scale. These guidelines provide step-by-step instructions for establishing pollinator meadows from seed in areas that range in size from a small backyard garden up to areas around an acre.

Cover Cropping for Pollinators and Beneficial Insects

This 16-page bulletin will help you use cover crops to encourage populations of pollinators and beneficial insects on your farm while you address your other resource concerns. It begins with a broad overview of pollinator and beneficial insect ecology, then describes cover crop selection and management, how to make cover crops work on your farm, and helpful and proven crop rotations. It will also touch on the limitations of cover crops and pesticide harm reduction, among other topics.

Estimated Costs to Establish Pollinator Hedgerows

Plant Lists

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Milkweed Seed Finder

As part of our Project Milkweed, we have created this comprehensive national directory of milkweed seed vendors to help you find sources of seed. To learn more about monarch butterflies and how you can participate in conservation efforts, please visit the Xerces Society’s Monarch Butterfly Conservation page or the Monarch Joint Venture webpage.

Pollinator Plants: Maritime Northwest Region

This Xerces Society fact sheet features recommended native plants that are highly attractive to pollinators such as native bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds, and are well-suited for small-scale plantings in gardens, on business and school campuses, in urban greenspaces, and in farm field borders.

Native Plants for Pacific Northwest Gardens

With a focus on the Willamette Valley, this Metro booklet recommends native shrubs, trees, and herbaceous plants that are well-suited for gardens; each plant’s value to wildlife and preferred growing conditions are denoted.

Plant Species for Pollinator Habitat in the Inland Pacific Northwest

This poster, created by the USDA-NRCS Pullman Washington Plant Materials Center, lists recommended pollinator plants east of the Cascade Mountains, with detailed information on seeding rates, plant characteristics, drought tolerance, bloom time, and other attributes.

Native Plants for Willamette Valley Yards

Planting well-chosen natives can create wildlife habitat, conserve water and reduce the need for pesticides and fertilizers that can pollute local rivers and streams. Using native plants in the landscape also brings the beauty of our region’s natural areas closer to home.

Plants for Pollinators in the Inland Northwest

This NRCS Technical Note provides guidance for the design and implementation of conservation plantings to enhance habitat for pollinators. Plant species included in this document are adapted to the Inland Northwest; encompassing eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon and northern Idaho.

Plants for Pollinators in the Intermountain West

This NRCS Technical Note provides guidance for the design and implementation of conservation plantings to enhance habitat for pollinators. Plant species included in this document are adapted to the Intermountain West; encompassing southern Idaho, eastern Oregon, northern Nevada, and northern Utah.

Plants for Pollinators in Oregon

This Oregon NRCS Technical Note describes the biology and habitat needs of native bees and other beneficial insects. An extensive and detailed list of plant species is included.

Native Plant Profiles and Lists

The Xerces Society has collaborated with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to create plant lists that are attractive to native bees, bumble bees, honey bees, and other beneficial insects, as well as plant lists with value as nesting materials for native bees. These lists can be narrowed down with additional criteria such as state, soil moisture, bloom time, and sunlight requirements.

Monarch Nectar Plants: Maritime Northwest

This regional list of monarch nectar plants is geared toward gardeners, landscape designers, and land managers who are implementing small- to large-scale monarch restoration projects in coastline and coastal ranges of Washington, Oregon, and northern California; the the Cascade mountains to the east; and the Puget Trough and Willamette Valley in between.

Monarch Nectar Plants: Great Basin

This regional list of monarch nectar plants is geared toward gardeners, landscape designers, and land managers who are implementing small- to large-scale monarch restoration projects in Nevada, part of Utah, and small sections of the surrounding states of Oregon, Idaho, and California.

Monarch Nectar Plants: Inland Northwest

This regional list of monarch nectar plants is geared toward gardeners, landscape designers, and land managers who are implementing small- to large-scale monarch restoration projects in eastern Oregon and Washington into parts of western Idaho and northern Nevada.

Monarch Butterfly Nectar Plant Lists for Conservation Plantings

This set of Xerces Society guidelines is a helpful tool for ecological restoration, providing lists of plants known to support monarch adults and caterpillars.

A Guide to the Milkweeds of Oregon

A series of regional guides to the native milkweeds of North America, developed in cooperation with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Habitat Management

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Maintaining Diverse Stands of Wildflowers

High quality pollinator meadows sometimes experience a decline in wildflower diversity or abundance as they age. This guide provides recommendations on how to bring declining meadows back into a high quality condition.

Collecting and Using Your Own Wildflower Seed

In this document we outline the basic steps of collecting native plant seed using readily available, non-specialized equipment, as well as tips for cleaning, storing, and sharing seed to expand pollinator habitat on farms and in our communities.

Best Management Practices for Pollinators on Western Rangelands

The Xerces Society developed these guidelines to help land managers incorporate pollinator-friendly practices into rangeland management. This publication is focused on federally managed rangelands that span the following western states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.

Wild Pollinators of Eastern Apple Orchards (Second Edition)

(Note: most of the information in this booklet is relevant to apple production in the Pacific Northwest region)
This book includes a photo guide to bees most important to apple production in the East, steps to conserving wild bee populations, plant recommendations to enhance habitat, summary of bee toxicities for commonly used orchard pesticides, and links to additional information. Note: most of the information in this booklet is relevant to apple production in the Pacific Northwest region.

Roadside Best Management Practices that Benefit Pollinators

These best management practices provide concrete steps that can be taken by any roadside management agency to improve roadside vegetation for pollinators. The BMPs cover management of existing habitat, including ways to modify the use of mowing and herbicides to enhance roadsides, and methods to incorporate native plants and pollinator habitat into the design of new roadsides.

Roadside Habitat For Monarchs: Monarch Butterflies, Weeds, and Herbicides

Roadsides provide more than just milkweed. They can also provide diverse nectar sources to feed adult monarchs and other pollinators—but ensuring that roadsides can continue to provide the best habitat requires some thought and care. This guide highlights best management practices to reduce the impacts of herbicides on monarchs.

Western Monarch Management Windows: Timing Management in Monarch Breeding Habitat:

Based on the best available data for when and where monarchs breed in the West, we have developed regionally appropriate monarch breeding habitat management windows, when management activities are least likely to have negative effects on monarchs.

Pesticide Protection

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Guidance to Protect Habitat from Pesticide Contamination: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Pollinator Habitat

This Xerces Society guidance document was designed to help growers, land managers, and others safeguard pollinator habitat from harmful pesticide contamination. It includes information on selecting habitat sites, as well as ways to maintain clean habitat by limiting and carefully managing pesticide use.

Smarter Pest Management: Protecting Pollinators at Home

Most of North America’s native bee species only forage over a distance of a few hundred yards, so with a little planning, your yard can provide a safe space for bees and other pollinators to thrive. All you need to give them are flowering plants throughout the growing season, undisturbed places to nest, and protection from pesticides. This Xerces Society guide will help you with the last item, managing yard pests in a pollinator-friendly way.

Smarter Pest Management: Pollinator Protection for Cities and Campuses

This Xerces Society fact sheet introduces to city and campus land managers the concept of integrated pest management (IPM), a system that emphasizes prevention first and seeks to eliminate the underlying causes of plant diseases, weeds, and insect problems rather than relying on routine use of pesticides.

Protecting Pollinators from Pesticides: Fungicide Impacts on Pollinators

From large farms to small backyard gardens, many people use fungicides to control plant pathogens. While insecticides have long been recognized as a threat to bees and other beneficial insects, fungicides have generally been assumed to be relatively harmless. Though most fungicide exposures won’t kill a bee immediately, a growing body of research suggests that some fungicides can cause subtle yet significant harm. This Xerces Society fact sheet delves into how these impacts on pollinators occur, and offers mitigation measures and alternative pest management strategies.

How to Reduce Bee Poisoning from Pesticides

This detailed guide, produced jointly by the extension services of Oregon State University, Washington State University, and the University of Idaho, offers guidance on how to select and apply insecticides. Extensive tables list the toxicity to bees of dozens of chemicals and how long after application they remain hazardous to bees in the field.

Protecting Bees from Neonicotinoids in Your Garden

Neonicotinoids are a group of insecticides that are used widely on farms, as well as around our homes, schools, and city landscapes. This Xerces Society brochure explains why they are a risk to bees, gives examples of neonicotinoid garden products, and gives some simple tips for protecting bees from these insecticides.

How Neonicotinoids Can Kill Bees: The Science Behind the Role These Insecticides Play in Harming Bees

In this Xerces Society report, we present an overview of research that clearly documents neonicotinoid impacts on bees. The report also covers what can be inferred from existing research, and identifies knowledge gaps that will need to be filled to allow for better-informed decisions about the future use and regulation of these chemicals.

Beyond the Birds and the Bees: Effects of Neonicotinoid Insecticides on Agriculturally Important Beneficial Insects

This Xerces Society report details potential negative impacts of neonicotinoid insecticides on important beneficial insects. It also makes recommendations on how we can better protect important beneficials like beetles and wasps.

Organic Pesticides: Minimizing Risks to Pollinators and Beneficial Insects

These Xerces Society guidelines provide a brief overview of how to select and apply pesticides for organic farm operations while minimizing pollinator mortality. Many of the practices outlined here for protecting pollinators also can help to protect beneficial insects such as parasitoid wasps and flies; predaceous wasps, flies, and beetles; ambush and assassin bugs; lacewings; and others. The presence of these insects can further reduce pest pressure and the need for chemical treatments.

Common Organic-Allowed Pesticides: A Comparative Overview

Intended as a companion document to Organic Pesticides: Minimizing Risks to Pollinators and Beneficial Insects, this fact sheet is intended to be a quick reference to help you select and use organically-approved pesticides with the least impact on bees and other beneficial insects.

Supporting Ecologically Sound Mosquito Management: Protecting Pollinators from Pesticides

This Xerces Society fact sheet provides a brief overview of mosquito management methods that protect both people and pollinators, plus two case studies in effective mosquito management.

IPI Database

The IPI database contains summaries of research articles on pesticides, their effects on invertebrates, and pesticide movement in the environment. Articles have been reviewed and summarized to highlight key findings by Xerces Society staff.

Preventing or Mitigating Potential Negative Impacts of Pesticides on Pollinators Using Integrated Pest Management and Other Conservation Practices

Agronomy Technical Note No. 9.

Identification & Monitoring Resources

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Maritime Northwest Community Science Monitoring Guide

These guidelines were developed to assist with surveying and monitoring for native bee and butterfly diversity and abundance. The guide includes a straightforward sampling protocol that can be conducted with minimal training and time, and includes guidance on identifying different groups of bees and butterflies.

15 Butterflies and Moths to Expect in Portland

This pocket guide lists fifteen common species around the Portland metro area, created in partnership between the Xerces Society and Portland Parks and Recreation.

Pocket Guide to Identifying the Bees of Portland

This pocket guide lists common species in the Portland metro area, created in partnership between the Xerces Society and Portland Parks and Recreation.

Pocket Guide to Identifying the Western Bumble Bee

A full color print-and-fold guide to the Western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis), a formerly common species believed to be in decline. Includes images of similar looking species.

Bumble Bees of the Western United States:

This US Forest Service guide provides information to identify 30 bumble bee species found from the west coast to the Rocky Mountains.

Native Seed & Plant Vendors

Vendors

Milkweed Seed Finder

Althouse Nursery, Cave Junction, OR
Offers container grown native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants suitable for southern Oregon.

BC’s Wild Heritage Plants, Chilliwack BC
BC’s Wild Heritage Plants offers perennial plants, groundcovers, bulbs and ferns via mail order and retail sale hours by appointment.

Beaverlake Nursery, Beavercreek, OR
BeaverLake sells nursery stock wholesale, and specializes in groundcovers, wetland and native plants.

Bosky Dell Natives, West Linn, OR
As a retail and wholesale nursery, Bosky Dell offers Pacific Northwest native wildflowers, bulbs, shrubs and trees.

Champoeg Nursery, Inc., Aurora, OR
Champoeg provides perennial, wetland and woody plants native to the Pacific and Inland Northwest regions of the U. S.

Clearwater Native Plant Nursery, Redmond, OR
Clearwater is a wholesale nursery specializing in central Oregon native riparian, wetland and drought-tolerant plants.

Clearwater Seed, Spokane, WA
Clearwater offers native grass, forb and shrub seeds, as well as seed mixes designed for the Inland Northwest region.

Derby Canyon Natives, Peshastin, WA
Derby Canyon sells native plants in containers and native seeds from habitats throughout Central Washington.

Desert Jewels Nursery, Spokane, WA
Desert Jewels Nursery provides local trees and shrubs and flowering plants with emphasis on drought tolerant natives of the West.

Echo Valley Natives, Oregon City, OR
Echo Valley provides plants native to Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

Friendly Natives Plants and Design, Bainbridge Island, WA
Friendly Natives offers trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses from the Puget Sound / Western Washington area.

Fourth Corner Nurseries, Bellingham, WA
Fourth Corner sells plant material of native trees, shrubs, and wetland plants, primarily from the northwestern U.S. but also from the New England area.

Heritage Seedlings, Salem, OR
Heritage Seedlings provides plants of source-identified northwest native herbaceous perennials and woody species, and seed of native Willamette Valley upland and wet prairie species. See website for minimum purchase requirements.

Humble Roots Farm & Nursery, LLC, Mosier, OR
Humble Roots specializes in plants and seeds of the Pacific Northwest, particularly the Columbia River Gorge area.

Inside Passage Seeds, Port Townsend, WA
Inside Passage provides seed of Northwest trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses, including wetland species.

L&H Seeds, Inc. , Connell, WA
L&H offers native seed of Pacific Northwest grass, forb, legume and wild flower seeds.

Methow Natives, Twisp, WA

Methow Natives provides a wide range of locally adapted native plants, source identified natives from the Methow watershed in Washington.

NALT Natural Abundance Native Plant Nursery, Nanaimo, BC
Operated by the Nanaimo and Area Land Trust this retail plant nursery offers native trees, shrubs, flowers, and other native plants and seed for sale.

Native Grounds Nursery, Brownsville, OR
A wholesale nursery specializing in natives, groundcovers, and wetland plants. Drought tolerant and pollinator attracting plants available as well.

Native Plants of the Northwest, Salem, OR
Native Plants of the Northwest provides native trees, shrubs and smaller plants, including ferns and perennials.

Northwest Meadowscapes, Portland, OR
Offers Xerces-reviewed seed mixes for pollinator conservation projects.
Provider of true Northwest-native pollinator seed mixes for Western Oregon and Washington, including mixes containing rare and high value pollinator plant species.

Oak Point Nursery, Independence, OR
Oak Point Nursery provides Oregon native trees, shrubs, and perennials.

Oxbow Native Plant Nursery, Carnation, WA
Oxbow Native Plant Nursery specializes in trees, shrubs and perennials native to western Washington.

Pacific Northwest Natives, Albany, OR
Pacific Northwest Natives offers seed of Western native grasses and wildflowers.

Pacific Rim Native Plant Nursery, Chilliwack, BC
Specializing in hard to find native plants, this retail nursery is open by appointment only.

Peel’s Nurseries Ltd., Mission, BC
Wholesale nursery specializing in the propagation of native plants for commercial and residential landscapes, habitat and wetland restoration, stream rehabilitation, mitigation, highways, and parks.

Plantas Nativa, LLC, Bellingham, WA
Plantas Nativa provides regionally specific native seed and plants to Western Washington.

Plants of the Wild, Tekoa, WA
Plants of the Wild specializes in plant material of native plants of the Pacific Northwest and native grasses and wildflower seed.

Quality Seed Collections, Kamloops, BC
Quality Seed Collections offer seeds of trees, woody plants and wildflowers native to British Columbia.

Rainier Seeds, Inc. , Davenport, WA
Rainier Seeds, Inc. offers seeds of native and introduced grasses, forbs, legumes, shrubs and wildflowers for the Western U. S.

Russell Nursery, North Saanich, BC
Serving both landscapers and the general public, this retail nursery offers a variety of native plants.

Sagebrush Nursery, Oliver, BC
Sagebrush offers containerized grasses, perennials, shrubs and trees for the Northwest.

Scappoose Bay Watershed Council Native Plant Center, Warren, OR
Scappoose Bay Watershed Council’s native plant nursery sells plants for landowner and community restoration efforts.

Sevenoaks Native Nursery, Albany, OR
Sevenoaks is a wholesale nursery that provides sourced plant material of native species to the western U. S.

Siskiyou Rare Plant Nursery, Talent, OR
Siskiyou offers unusual natives, with an emphasis on the Klamath-Siskiyou region of the Pacific Northwest.

Sound Native Plants, Inc. , Olympia, WA
Sound Native’s nursery offers containers of native trees, shrubs, flowers and grasses to the Pacific Northwest.

Split Rock Sekw’el’was Wild Plant Nursery, Lillooet, BC
Split Rock Sekw’el’was Wild Plant Nursery carries native trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses and sedges.

Storm Lake Growers, Inc. , Monroe, WA
Storm Lake Growers provides wholesale groundcovers, perennials, trees, shrubs, both Pacific Northwest natives and ornamentals.

Streamside Native Plants, Bowser, BC
Wholesale and retail nursery specializing in the propagation of trees, woody shrubs and perennials native to coastal British Columbia. Plants are grown without pesticides or herbicides.

University of British Columbia Shop-in-the-Garden, Vancouver, BC
Located within the UBC Botanic Garden, the Shop and Garden Centre offer seasonal selections of perennials, shrubs and vines.

Washington Association of Conservation Districts Plant Materials Center, Tumwater, WA
The Washington Association of Conservation Districts Plant Materials Center offers high quality conservation grade bare-root plants, shrubs, and services that benefit natural resources.

Watershed Garden Works, Longview, WA
Watershed Garden Works is a wholesale nursery that offers Northwestern native plants for wetlands, riparian and upland areas, from seed to containers.

Willamette Gardens, Corvallis, OR
Willamette Gardens provides containers of native trees, shrubs , and perennials, and also sells seed of select natives.

WinterCreek Restoration, Bend, OR
WinterCreek’s nursery offers Northwest native perennials and grasses, with a focus on desert species of Oregon and Nevada.

Woodbrook Nursery, Gig Harbor, WA
Woodbrook Nursery provides Pacific Northwest native plants, including trees and perennials.

Yellowpoint Propagation Ltd., Ladysmith BC
Yellow Point Propagation collects and supplies native plant seeds for ecological restoration projects and native plant gardening.

Seed Mixes

Pacific Northwest Native Seed Mix

From Northwest Meadowscapes, attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and beneficial insects with this dramatic wildflower show. The combination of native annuals and perennials in these seed mixes provide an ongoing succession of flowers over multiple years. Unlike many commercially available ‘pollinator’ seed mixes for the Northwest, these mixes consist of 100% true native species, including some fantastic—but often hard-to-find—plants such as Oregon phacelia and Puget Sound gumweed.

Pacific Northwest Bumble Bee Atlas

The Pacific Northwest Bumble Bee Atlas is a collaborative, regional community science project aimed at tracking and conserving native bumble bees in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Participants adopt a grid cell, survey for bumble bees, and submit data online to help guide conservation efforts in the region.

Bumble Bee Watch

Bumble Bee Watch is a collaborative effort to track and conserve North America’s bumble bees. Everyone is invited to contribute to this important community science effort. Have fun while learning more about bumble bees and the vital role they play in our environment!

Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper

The Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper is part of a collaborative effort to map and better understand monarch butterflies and their host plants across the Western U.S. Your help is critical to the success of this project!

Bee Better Certified

Bee Better Certified™ partners with farmers and food companies to conserve bees and other pollinators in agricultural lands. The Bee Better Certified seal identifies and celebrates farmers and businesses that adopt farm management practices that support pollinators, and gives consumers confidence that their purchasing decisions benefit pollinators and the farmers working to protect them.

Bee City & Bee Campus USA

The Bee City & Bee Campus USA programs endorse a set of commitments for creating sustainable habitats for native pollinators, which are vital to feeding the planet. Learn more how to make your town or campus better for bees today!