Pollinator partnerships are blooming in Southeast Idaho

The great thing about Idahoans is when we look around and see something needs to be done, we roll up our sleeves and become part of the solution. After observing fewer and fewer native bees, butterflies, and other local pollinators on visits to their favorite local natural areas, a group of dedicated volunteers in Pocatello decided to do something about it. The community-based conservation effort has now coalesced into the Portneuf Pollinator Partnership—a stewardship program focused on enhancing pollinator habitats in and around the Portneuf River corridor. Founded two short months ago, their mission is “to increase pollinator habitat and native species of the Portneuf Valley through education, demonstration gardens, community involvement, and collaboration between various civic organizations that understand the vital nature of pollinator habitat.”Idaho’s State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) describes the Portneuf area as having a unique mix of both “semidesert” and “steppe” environments with sage hills and canyonlands, open woodlands, coniferous forests and alpine meadows. The diversity of the landscape means that pollinators have access to an immense variety of shrubs, trees, forbs and grasses. These plants provide the essentials for important pollinators like native bee species that need forage for pollen and nectar, nesting locations to host eggs and larvae and underground security during the winter months.But habitats that have historically provided for the needs of native pollinator species are now becoming increasingly fragmented. Pollinators also face other challenges including widespread use of chemicals for pest and weed control, climate change, overgrazing, genetic diversity and nonnative pathogens (like the Varroa destructor mite that’s wreaked havoc on honey bee populations).In 2015, IDFG’s SWAP identified 205 Species of Greatest Conservation Need—22 of which native bee, butterfly, and moth pollinators. Several species, such as Gillette’s Checkerspot andYellow, Morrison, Western and Suckley’s cuckoo bumblebees are listed by the state as “imperiled” or “critically imperiled” (at high risk or very high risk of extinction or elimination). Last December, Monarch butterflies were also designated as a candidate species for protections under the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The vast majority of all flowering plants are pollinated by bees, including two-thirds of agricultural crops, worldwide. This essential ecosystem benefit provides food and shelter for the entire animal kingdom (including humans) and helps maintain biological and genetic diversity across terrestrial landscapes. Challenges faced by the 400 species of pollinators in Idaho translate to threats to all the other species we care so much about—they are the canaries in the coal mine. Cathy Ford, Roadside Program Administrator at Idaho Department of Transportation, once described the economic significance of pollinators by stating, “pollinator species such as birds and insects are increasingly recognized as essential partners to farmers and ranchers in producing much of our food supply.” The issue is so important that the Idaho State Department of Agriculture can investigate some pollinator die-offs that may be connected to an exposure to pesticides.While it was pollinator declines that gave rise to the Portneuf Pollinator Partnership, the loose-knit group of volunteers that are pioneering the effort aren’t biologists or range scientists or policy wonks. Often exchanging text messages after witnessing a fluttering Monarch nearby, they came together through a shared fascination of tiny creatures inhabiting the natural world and an insatiable appetite for learning.Some of this education came by way of the High Desert Chapter of IDFG’s Master Naturalist Program—a structured, 40-hour course of “experiential education about Idaho’s ecology, plants, animals and natural systems.” A few years ago, retired educator Deb Pein was approached to give a pollinator talk at the Edson Fichter Nature Area, an IDFG-owned property named after an Idaho State University professor and artist dedicated to educating the Pocatello community about the value of wildlife. Enthused about the prospect, she tapped into the expertise and enthusiasm of friends and local Master Naturalists to help make the presentation. One thing led to the next, and the Portneuf Pollinator Partnership was born. Since then, it’s grown to include 12 community organizations and they’re busier than the native bees they’re looking to protect.The Sacajawea Park Pollinator Project is just one of the many efforts “blooming” out of the Portneuf group. Newly certified Pollinator Steward, Linda Popelka, is cooperating with the city of Pocatello’s Parks and Recreation Department and the Portneuf Greenway to establish year-round host-plant habitat for Swallowtail and Monarch butterflies and other important native pollinators. Operating under limited, one-time grant funds from the Ifft Foundation and support from the High Desert Master Naturalists, Linda, Deb, and other volunteers have planted perennials such as chokecherry, milkweed, Rocky Mountain bee plant, golden current, sunflowers, lemonade sumac, and other plants chosen specifically because they flower in all but the winter months. They’re also establishing bunchgrasses, pulling up sections of ground cloth to allow bees to nest under the soils, and have plans to develop a local source for community members to access native plants and seeds. Linda says that, once established, their plantings won’t take a lot to maintain. At a recent Portneuf Valley Farmer’s Market appearance, the Portneuf Pollinators group gave away an astounding 200 milkweed seed packets! Linda and Deb take guidance from the Xerces Society and inspiration from the Parks for Pollinators program, an effort by National Recreation and Park Association to encourage city park managers to promote or establish pollinator conservation programs. Their can-do spirit has garnered support from Pocatello City Parks and Recreation Manager, Anne Butler, who believes the project “fits with the [city] resources available…it’s a cool space all the way around to bring in insects and pollinators.” Bannock County also recently promised to not spray for mosquitos in the area. The group hopes to encourage the county to more widely adopt the use of organic biologicals that are specific to mosquito larvae and don’t have an adverse impact on caterpillars and bees.At the end of a Sacajawea Park garden tour, Linda also subtly advocated for the physical and emotional health benefits of having natural areas close-by and enhanced by community-based conservation efforts. “Getting off your couch”, she says, “we can all do something to help the environment, rather than focus on the gloom and doom…that’s what we’re striving for.” 

Editor’s note: A schedule of fall events sponsored by the Portneuf Pollinator Partnership can be found HERE. Also, earlier this summer, ICL highlighted statewide volunteer efforts, spearheaded by IDFG and the Idaho Master Naturalist Program, to visit inventoried milkweed patches to document Monarch butterfly activity. Results of that effort can be found HERE. Stay updated on Idaho’s wildlife—from the pronghorn to the pollinators—by signing up for ICL Wildlife Updates.