Non-Discrimination Policy The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.) To File an Employment Complaint If you wish to file an employment complaint, you must contact your agency's EEO Counselor within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act, event, or in the case of a personnel action. Additional information can be found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_file.html. To File a Program Complaint If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632- 9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at [email protected]. Persons with Disabilities Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities and who wish to file either an EEO or program complaint, please contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339 or (800) 845-6136 (in Spanish). Persons with disabilities, who wish to file a program complaint, please see information above on how to contact us by mail directly or by email. If you require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) please contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program For any other information dealing with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) issues, persons should either contact the USDA SNAP Hotline Number at (800) 221-5689, which is also in Spanish, or call the State Information/Hotline Numbers for a listing of hotline numbers by State. All Other Inquiries For any other information not pertaining to civil rights, please refer to the listing of the USDA Agencies and Offices for specific agency information. USDA NRCS is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. 2 Table of Contents I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 4 II. Incorporating Pollinator Conservation in Nevada ...................................................................... 5 III. Recognizing Existing Pollinator Habitat .................................................................................. 6 A. Existing Plant Composition ............................................................................................... 6 B. Nesting and Overwintering Sites........................................................................................ 7 IV. Protecting Pollinators and Their Habitat .................................................................................. 9 A. Use Pesticides Carefully .................................................................................................... 9 B. Minimizing the Harm from Mowing, Haying, Burning, or Grazing................................ 10 C. Protecting Ground Nesting Bees ...................................................................................... 10 D. Protecting Wood-Nesting Bees ........................................................................................ 11 V. Enhancing and Developing New Pollinator Habitat ................................................................ 11 A. Site Selection.................................................................................................................... 11 B. Habitat Design .................................................................................................................. 12 C. Plant Selection and Seed Sources..................................................................................... 14 D. Creating Artificial Nest Sites for Native Bees ................................................................. 15 VI. Management of New Pollinator Habitat ................................................................................. 16 VII. Plant Selection ....................................................................................................................... 23 A. Trees and Shrubs for Pollinator Enhancement ................................................................. 23 B. Forbs ................................................................................................................................. 23 C. Grasses and Sedges to Include in Herbaceous Mixtures .................................................. 23 D. Plant Species for Cover Crops, Green Manure, Forage, and Pollinator Plantings .......... 24 E. Garden Plants.................................................................................................................... 24 VIII. Site Preparation, Planting, and Maintenance of New Pollinator Habitat ............................. 24 A. Site Preparation for Woody Plants ................................................................................... 25 B. Site Preparation for Herbaceous Plants ............................................................................ 25 C. Planting and Initial Establishment.................................................................................... 26 D. Management ..................................................................................................................... 28 Publications for Additional Information ....................................................................................... 31 Websites for Additional Information ............................................................................................ 32 Appendix I - Noxious Weeds in Nevada. ..................................................................................... 33 Appendix II - Map of Major Land Resource Areas (MLRAs) in Nevada .................................... 35 Appendix III - Plant Tables. .......................................................................................................... 36 Table 1. - Trees and Shrubs for Pollinator Habitat. ...................................................................... 36 Table 2. - Perennial Forbs for Pollinator Habitat. ......................................................................... 41 Table 3. - Grasses, sedges, and rushes for Pollinator Habitat. ...................................................... 52 Table 4. - Crop plants for Pollinator Habitat. ............................................................................... 56 Acknowledgement ................................................................................................................ 59 Literature Cited ..................................................................................................................... 59 USDA NRCS is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. 3 I. Introduction bees are active at cooler temperatures or during cloudy weather, conditions in which honey bees are rarely active. Bumble bees This Technical Note provides guidance on also employ buzz pollination, a technique to how to plan, create, and protect habitat for release pollen from the anthers of plants pollinators in Nevada. Pollinators are an such as tomato, eggplant, cranberry, or integral part of the environment and blueberry. Honey bees, which do not agricultural systems; they are important for perform buzz pollination, are less effective at least 35 percent of global crop production pollinators of such crops. However, several (Klein et al., 2007). The majority of North American bumble bee species, flowering plants, up to 85% worldwide, rely including the Western bumble bee (Bombus on an animal pollinator to transfer pollen in occidentalis), a species that occurs in order to set seed and reproduce. Pollinators Nevada, have undergone severe declines in include bees, butterflies, beetles, moths, recent years (Cameron et al. 2011). The wasps, flies, ants, bats, and hummingbirds. leading hypothesis is that declining species This technical note focuses on native bees, are more susceptible to a pathogen thought the most important group of pollinators in to have been accidentally introduced from North America, and also addresses the Europe through commercial bumble bee habitat needs of butterflies and other production (Cameron et al. 2011; Velthuis beneficial insects. and van Doorn 2006). Worldwide, there are an estimated 20,000 Native bees are often specialized for species of bees (Michener, 2000), with foraging on particular flowers, such as approximately 4,000 species native to the squash, berries, or orchard trees (Tepedino United States (Winfree et al., 2007). The 1981; Bosch and Kemp, 2001; Javorek et al., domesticated European honey bee (Apis 2002). This specialization results in more mellifera) has been managed by humans