LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 33 than honey bees at pollinating native plants, since native insects have evolved adaptations to foraging on native flowers. Native pollinators also contribute $3 billion worth of pollination services to U.S. agriculture, according to the Xerces Society. Between 2017 and 2021, scientists from the New York Natural Heritage Program — a program of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry — conducted a survey of native pollinators, funded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. They focused on a select group of bees, flies, beetles, and moths that were known to be important pollinators, but that were not well-studied, and which included species that were known or thought to be at risk of decline. Their effort also involved collaborators from multiple universi- ties, government agencies, and non-profits, and even members of the public who received training from the scientists. The results of the Empire State Native Pollinator Survey, published in 2022, were sobering. "As many as 60 percent of the species we looked at are at risk of extirpation from New York," said Matthew Schlesinger, Chief Zoologist with the New York Natural Heritage Program and co-author of the report. It's "pretty clearly a mix of factors that have led to pollinator decline," said Schlesinger. These include pesticide use, climate change, habitat loss, and light pollution (which disrupts the navigation of nocturnal moths). The resulting declines threaten our native ecosystems. "Native pollinators and native plants have co-evolved over millennia. And you can't just break that connection with native pollinators declining and not expect to see some tremendous change in our native flora – and ultimately, then, our other native fauna," said Schlesinger. Reducing pesticide use is one action that individuals can take to help protect native pollinators. Increasing habitat is another. As I talked with Schlesinger in Albany's Washington Park, he ges- tured to the trimmed lawns surrounding us. "As we sit here in this, you know, somewhat sterile park, couldn't some of this be given over to a wildflower meadow where native pollinators can forage? " he asked. Warren County's Pledge a Plot for Pollinators program is encouraging individuals to do just that. In its first year, the project was so popular that the Soil and Water Conservation District met its initial goal of 10,000 square feet (about a quarter of an acre) of new pollinator habitat within days. "I announced it (the program) on Monday, and by Wednesday, all the seed was spoken for," said Jake Dunkley, the District Tech- nician who coordinates the program. They decided to double the amount available. "And so I announced that we had more seed, and that was gone by like Friday." For this year, the District doubled last year's target, to a full acre. Dunkley started fielding calls in January The Adirondack Pollinator Project's greenhouse in Lake Placid. Photo credit: Adk Action

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