The American bumblebee is what most people probably imagine when they think of pollinators: fuzzy, yellow-and-black striped, round, and buzzing.
But this iconic bee is endangered in Michigan, and it’s nearly vanished from 15 other states.
It’s what experts and advocates call a crisis. But the new Center for Pollinator Conservation aims to reverse the trend through collaboration.
Kelley Myers is the interim director for the center at the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). She said the new program is meant to serve as a “virtual collaborative space” for stakeholders.
“Even when it feels like you have a teaspoon in the ocean, trying to bail out the water, there's a lot of other people have teaspoons," Myers said. "The community that we have within the Service is providing people to one another, to be able to share their stories, and to know what's happening.”
In its first year, Myers said the FWS plans to get a sense of its current pollinator conservation efforts, threats to pollinators, and best practices.
“The challenge of pollinators is really broad," Myers said. "So coming together across an issue like this, across our programs and regions, and then reaching out to other federal agencies as well, to be a hub with them is pretty novel.”
