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Press & Media

Xerces Society staff are respected as reliable sources of science-based advice at the forefront of invertebrate protection, and can provide information and perspective on all aspects of invertebrate conservation.

Our team includes nationally recognized experts on a range of issues, including insect declines, protecting endangered species, climate change impacts, pollinator conservation, pesticide risk, habitat creation, and wildlife gardening. We work to understand and protect insects and other invertebrates in all landscapes, from wildlands to backyards.

In each of the last three years, Xerces staff were quoted or our work was mentioned in thousands of media articles that reached over one billion people worldwide.

We’re happy to give media interviews. Please direct all inquiries to Deborah Seiler, Director of Communications: (503) 212-0550, [email protected]

For general information about our work, please see our blog, publications, and other information on our website. Follow us on social media for the latest updates, as well.


Recent Press Releases

On Wednesday, a special Task Force on Pollinator Health delivered a series of recommendations to the Oregon legislature on how to help the state’s honey bees, native bees and other pollinators. The task force’s recommendations have the potential to make improvements for pollinators, but fall short of meaningful policy solutions to address the clear threat that neonicotinoid insecticides pose to pollinators.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Food Safety as co-lead petitioners joined by the Xerces Society and renowned monarch scientist Dr. Lincoln Brower filed a legal petition today to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeking Endangered Species Act protection for monarch butterflies, which have declined by more than 90 percent in under 20 years. During the same period it is estimated that these once-common iconic orange and black butterflies may have lost more than 165 million acres of habitat — an area about the size of Texas — including nearly a third of their summer breeding grounds.
Responding to a petition from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has issued a positive 90-day finding for the island marble butterfly, to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, August 19, determining that protection may be warranted and initiating a status review of the species. This action resulted from a settlement agreement between the Xerces Society and USFWS.
Lacewings, lady beetles and flower flies are just a few of the beneficial insect groups that attack crop pests and reduce the need for pesticides. To increase the abundance and diversity of these hardworking insects on farms, the Xerces Society is pleased to announce the release of Farming with Native Beneficial Insects, the most comprehensive book ever developed on the subject of natural pest control.
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation together with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a complaint today against the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking them to take action on a petition to grant Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection to the rusty patched bumble bee. The rusty patched bumble bee is not only an important pollinator of prairie wildflowers, but also of cranberries, blueberries, apples, alfalfa, and numerous other crops. This bee was previously common across the Upper Midwest and Eastern Seaboard, but in recent years it has been lost from 87% of its historic range.