After a good meal you might thank the cook. How about a bumblebee? In the United States, pollinators are responsible for one of every three bites of food we eat. Some plants pollinate themselves, and wind and water move some pollen, but most pollination is done by animals — bats, birds, beetles, flies, butterflies and others carrying pollen from plant to plant. Without them we would lose much of our food, and much of what flowering plants give us besides: clean air, stable soils and diverse wildlife.
A bee of the genus Andrena*. Credit: Christina Martin, National Park Service.*
Why inventory pollinators
Pollinators face many threats, and their populations are falling worldwide. To understand the state of park ecosystems and decide how to manage them, park managers need to know which pollinators are present and in what numbers. The Park Service's Inventory & Monitoring Division planned insect pollinator surveys — bees and butterflies — in seventeen parks from spring 2024 through 2025 and 2026, led by university and nonprofit partners and aimed at conservation priorities park staff had identified: invasive plant removal, grazing management, controlled burning and habitat restoration. Some parks asked for full inventories; others focused on particular species, such as rare bumblebees and butterflies, and those listed or under consideration as threatened or endangered.
The projects
| Region | Parks | Partner | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Colorado Plateau | Dinosaur and Colorado national monuments | University of Colorado–Boulder | Bees and butterflies; livestock grazing, invasive species removal, habitat restoration |
| Fossil Butte National Monument (from 2025) | University of Wyoming | How trampling by elk, deer and other native hoofed animals affects ground-nesting bees | |
| Great Lakes | Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Mississippi National River & Recreation Area, Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway (preliminary work 2024, full project 2025) | University of Minnesota | Bumblebees and butterflies, to guide invasive plant removal, mowing, chemical treatment and burning |
| Isle Royale National Park, Pictured Rocks and Sleeping Bear Dunes national lakeshores (from summer 2024) | Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan State University | Petitioned, threatened and endangered species, including monarch butterflies and rusty patched bumblebees | |
| Gulf Coast | San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, Padre Island National Seashore | University of Texas–San Antonio and Monarch Joint Venture | Monarchs and milkweed: fall 2024 and spring 2025 surveys of breeding and milkweed life cycles during migration |
| Northern Great Plains | Devils Tower National Monument, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument | — | Threatened and endangered pollinators, to guide herbicide use, burning and mowing |
A western sheep moth (Hemileuca eglanterina). Credit: Sarah Whipple, National Park Service.
Sources
Based on "Pollinator Inventories Inform Park Decisions," National Park Service Inventory & Monitoring Division; a work of the United States government in the public domain.
In these publicationsBoston Harbor Islands National Recreation AreaApostle Islands National LakeshoreColorado National MonumentDinosaur National MonumentDevils Tower National MonumentFossil Butte National Monument
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
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