Facilitation of Pollinator Management on Public Lands through Acoustic and Genetic Detection

The goals of our project are to enhance native plant seed collection efforts in southern Utah and provide baseline data for pollinator diversity and abundance on public lands. Our seed collections contribute to regional economies and restoration efforts by way of our relationship with the Bureau of Land Management’s national Seeds of Success program. Our pollinator data will inform pollinator management and the design of seed mixes to improve pollinator habitat.

We received Public Lands Initiative funding in mid-July of 2019. Three students were hired and they began work in August of 2019. Our team of three students and three faculty have collected more than 600 bees for identification, development and field-tested a prototype acoustic recording unit, presented at a conference and, in conjunction our student-led Seeds of Success team, collected an estimated two million native plant seeds.

*A portion of the Public Lands Initiative’s annual appropriation supports work by researchers at Southern Utah University.