Multiple native Utah insect pollinator species are being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), including two butterfly species and three bumble bee species. When making listing decisions, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) considers critical habitats for insects at the species distribution level, as well as any efforts being made by states to protect the species. If any of these five insects were to be listed under ESA, large areas of Utah associated with these species ranges would likely be subject to regulatory burdens associated with critical habitat that would likely affect current resource use and development in the state (see attached distribution maps for species on the USFWS listing workplan). Ongoing efforts to establish species occurrence in Utah are vital to inform land management decisions that support the recovery of these insect populations and prevent these potential listings in the near future. The monarch butterfly was announced as a candidate species under the ESA in 2020. While USFWS determined the monarch as warranted for listing, it was precluded by higher priority listing decisions, and will face annual reviews until a follow-up listing decision is made in 2024. The western population of the monarch butterfly has declined to less than 1% of its population size since overwintering counts began in the early 1980's, prompting widespread action to understand the threats and habitat needs of this iconic insect across its range. The most recent fall and winter overwintering counts suggest this population rose to 250,000 individuals from a near-collapse at 1,900 the previous year. Although the large increase in the western population is encouraging, the number is still well below the recovery goal of an averaged 500,000 overwintering monarchs for 5 years, and thus remains a concern. Data collection through Utah Pollinator Pursuit has reinforced that Utah plays a very important role in the western monarch population with abundant and successful summer breeding grounds. The Nokomis silverspot butterfly (previously the Great Basin silverspot) faces an anticipated listing decision in FY22. This fritillary subspecies relies on limited, high-altitude wetland habitat, and has been disappearing from many of its known historical population sites, and is currently only known to occur in five major populations, including sites in Grand County, Utah. With the ongoing fragmentation of this critical riparian habitat and the isolation of Nokomis silverspot populations, the resulting subspecies face an increased risk of extinction. Several bumble bee species native to Utah are also experiencing alarming declines. The western bumble bee has an expected listing decision in FY23. This bumble bee was once the most common species of bumble bee in western North America, yet has fallen in reported sightings by more than 87%, with few records across most of its central range in the last decade. Data collected in 2020 and 2021 by Utah Pollinator Pursuit volunteers indicates that western bumble bee populations still occur in multiple locations in northern Utah and in higher elevations of southern Utah. Positive 90-day findings have been reported by USFWS for the Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee and the American and Sonoran bumble bees (considered to be a single species). The Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee is a rare, obligate social parasite of the western bumble bee that invades the nest of its host and relies on host workers to provision its larvae. Records for the Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee indicate that this bee has faced a decline of at least 77% over recent decades, associated with the decline of its western bumble bee hosts. The American bumble bee, formerly common in grasslands across North America, has an estimated relative decline of 78% across its range. Its historical range includes central eastern Utah, and that of the Sonoran bumble bee subspecies, with a range that extends into southwestern Utah. Community science data has been essential in detecting these bumble bee species and providing information on their seasonal activity and life histories. Experts attribute the decline of many insects/pollinators to a number of factors: climate change, pollution, pesticides/herbicides, loss of floral resources, fragmented breeding and overwintering habitat, and other unknown causes. The Utah Pollinator Pursuit has been successful in detecting the presence of these disappearing insect populations in Utah, but serious data gaps remain for their distribution, abundance, and habitat use, especially in less populated areas of the state. Such evidence is vital to inform management decisions and project opportunities that protect, enhance, and create essential pollinator habitat. Conservation strategies for Western states that support the recovery of monarchs and other native pollinator species are valuable resources that emphasize the importance of community science data collection. The Western Monarch Conservation Plan 2019-2069, finalized by the Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), offers comprehensive guidelines for Western states to maintain a healthy, viable western monarch population. This Plan is presently serving as a model for the development of conservation strategies for other at-risk, wide-ranging native pollinators. Implementation of such programs relies heavily on thorough and regular statewide data collection, and utilizes the contributions of volunteer community scientists to carry out the work required to locate and identify butterfly and bumble bee species. It is also necessary to engage community members to support habitat restoration and conservation throughout the state, thereby enhancing ecosystem services and the benefit to other species of conservation need. Through the Utah Pollinator Pursuit funded through ESMF, state-wide surveys for monarch activity and habitat have been conducted each growing season from 2019 to 2021. Enlisting hundreds of volunteers to visit sites and record observations has allowed for rapid and valuable data collection within a short period of time. Key insights from these seasons include the presence of likely suitable monarch breeding habitat across the northern half of the state, and that milkweed alone was not a predictor of monarch activity. It remains unclear what combination of factors influence the presence of monarchs, in part due to the incomplete habitat suitability data for southern Utah's wetlands, which are largely privately held. Continued efforts to engage private landowners to host or conduct pollinator surveys on their land will help address existing data gaps for habitat availability for migratory monarchs, while educating more people about monarch conservation. In two field seasons (2020 and 2021) of bumble bee data collection, the Utah Pollinator Pursuit has received over 1,200 observations, and detected 17 species of bumble bees, including at least six separate observations for western bumble bees and one sighting of a Sonoran bumble bee. During the 2021 field season, BLM and FS biologists from regional offices and National Forests agreed to conduct monthly surveys for bumble bees in nearby areas representing data gaps and identified as high priority by a US Geological Survey habitat model. These agency volunteers were trained for their first survey, and then collected repeat bumble bee community data through the Survey123 app, as well as more than 50 species voucher specimens from twelve sites around Utah, representing 14 bumble bee species. Combined, these data provide insight into the distribution of and habitat quality needed to support target species, and while western bumble bees are observed rarely, this effort demonstrates that they are distributed widely across high-elevation habitats in Utah. To inform listing decisions, data for monarchs and bumble bees will be reported to USFWS, as well as to other appropriate regional databases. Monarch and host plant data will continue to be reported to the Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper (WMMM), a Xerces-operated project that compiles data for the Western U.S. on monarch distribution and phenology and enables a more comprehensive assessment of conservation status by USFWS and state agencies. The USFWS western bumble bee species status assessment (WBB SSA) is currently being developed and will be ongoing until a listing decision is made in FY23. Bumble bee community data collected at the high-priority sites in Utah will be used by USFWS to develop the occupancy model for western bumble bees across their range. Volunteer participation has grown successfully even as COVD-19 safety restrictions have required project leads to adapt the Utah Pollinator Pursuit to a format that enables virtual recruitment, interactive webinar events, and safe equipment pick-up options. Community science data contributions in southern Utah increased despite the lack of in-person events. This project has generated a following of several hundred participants, and is poised to continue engaging a motivated community in collecting much-needed at-risk species distribution data throughout habitats in Utah. As additional butterfly and bumble bee species are considered for federal listing, the existing format for submitting observations can be easily expanded to enable data collection through the Utah Pollinator Pursuit project.

The goal of this project is to continue building the informational baseline required to address the needs of these species in an effort to prevent listings. The objectives are to fill data gaps for species distribution and habitat use throughout the state that are necessary for strategic planning for future conservation efforts. A primary objective for this work is to improve understanding of monarch habitat and utilization in Utah. This will be accomplished through checking for monarch presence in suitable habitat locations throughout the breeding season and conducting habitat assessments throughout the state. The second major objective is to obtain more thorough bumble bee distribution and habitat association data throughout the state. The enrollment of community scientists, voluntary participation from land management agency employees, and monarch and bumble bee experts will be essential to gather the data needed to start to fill landscape level data gaps regarding monarch, milkweed and bumble bee occurrences across the State of Utah. Task 1 - Geographic Expansion of Community Science Volunteer Participation Volunteer recruitment in the first three years of this project has been successful by directly engaging with a motivated and informed community. Existing channels of communication with potential volunteers have included public presentations, outreach newsletters, mailing lists, and social media announcements by UDWR, Sageland Collaborative, Red Butte Gardens, Hogle Zoo, The Nature Conservancy, Butterfly Biosphere at Thanksgiving Point, Utah Native Plant Society, local monarch and enthusiast groups, Utah State University and Southern Utah University, and agency partners including Natural Resource Conservation District, the Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and the Conservation Districts of Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. To date, participation has expanded into central and southern Utah, though the majority of volunteers and submitted pollinator observations are from northern Utah and the Wasatch Front. This year will focus on additional efforts to engage and educate more rural communities on actions that will support pollinators on private lands, and encourage participation in habitat surveys. To this end, we will leverage existing projects and opportunities to further establish community relationships. First, with the 2021 passage of the House Bill 224 Pollinator Pilot Program 'Pollinator Habitat Improvement Bill,' we will tie the Utah Pollinator Pursuit to the funding dedicated to promote and inform the inclusion of native pollinator habitat on private lands. The Pollinator Habitat Improvement Bill funds the development of educational materials such as native seed packets and detailed information regarding pollinator-friendly species, as well as the distribution of these packets at several events statewide, including Conservation District tree sales. These educational resources will be available on the Pollinator Habitat Improvement Program website that will also link to the UPP website. Additionally, we will continue coordinating with the outreach efforts of the Utah Monarch Advocates group to make contacts with interested entities to distribute seasonally appropriate monarch butterfly information, promote public awareness through community newsletters and advertising, and offer rewards for monarch sightings by county. Last year, as a result of their campaign, 25 of 29 counties submitted photos of monarchs. Further, we will make improvements to the data collection format and training materials for the 'Utah Pollinator Pursuit' Survey123 app to encourage more participation and increase the ease of data submission by volunteers and agency partners. Training events will enable the recruitment of community science volunteers and allow those interested to sign up for sites needing habitat assessment efforts, to reduce redundancy and direct efforts where they are most valuable. This task also involves providing education and training on habitat survey protocols and recognizing target species at various life stages (i.e. milkweed, floral resources, monarch butterflies, and bumble bees). These training events will be held in several locations around Utah to encourage interest from local community members, and will allow us to incorporate local knowledge from partners to address the greatest data gap needs and target regions effectively. All updated training materials and resources will be available on the Utah Pollinator Pursuit website for access at any time. Volunteers who sign up for monarch-focused habitat assessments will receive site information such as directions, terrain descriptions, land ownership details, and protocol materials to help them better understand their requested task as assessors. Such information will also be available through our online portal when volunteers consider participating as assessors. Finally, we will work with local NRCS and UDAF Conservation District offices who have established relationships with landowners in their respective regions and can promote the importance of pollinator habitat. The passage of the Pollinator Habitat Improvement Bill housed at UDAF creates a new collaborative opportunity to offer additional assistance to landowners who are interested in enhancing pollinator-friendly habitat on their properties. Assistance for pollinator habitat assessments can be offered both through this program and through the Utah Association of Conservation Districts, and landowners who are interested can apply to receive regionally-appropriate seedlings and seeds for pollinator habitat enhancements. Combining efforts for the Utah Pollinator Pursuit and the Pollinator Habitat Improvement Program should help expand public awareness and participation in both projects. Task 2 - Prioritizing Field Sites Across Utah According to Previous Field Efforts and Existing Data Gaps Recruiting regional participation - As public awareness and involvement in Utah Pollinator Pursuit has increased, there has been a growing interest from agency personnel and community members to contribute their knowledge and expertise to assessing monarch and bumble bee presence and habitat. As mentioned in Task 1, we intend to improve our communication with rural community members, and also leverage existing relationships between agency personnel (local NRCS offices, Conservation Districts, and USFWS partners program) and local landowners to encourage habitat assessments using the Utah Pollinator Pursuit app on private lands. The goal is to recruit and train private property owners to use the Survey123 app to either assess pollinator habitat on their own properties, or welcome Conservation District Planners for assistance or UPP leads and volunteers to assist them. We hope to emphasize involvement from communities outside of Utah's urban centers. Monarchs - Additionally, approximately 10 targeted monarch habitat assessment or survey sites will be generated throughout the State of Utah based on past data of milkweed presence, monarch activity, and suggestions from local monarch experts, agency personnel and enthusiasts. These stewardship sites will represent landscape diversity across Utah in which monarch breeding habitat may be used differently at various times in the season, but where outstanding data gaps remain. By focusing on suitable habitat for monarch breeding, volunteers can gather important information on the potential use of these sites by monarch butterflies and other pollinators throughout the breeding season, thus creating the ability to prioritize appropriate sites for habitat protection, enhancement and creation in the future. Enlisted community scientists will also be encouraged to create their own data steward sites as they encounter milkweed patches throughout the state. They will be asked to map and revisit these sites according to the data collection protocol. Bumble bees - Prior to data collected for UPP, bumble bee sightings in Utah have primarily been through deliberate surveys of subalpine insect communities. Based on data submitted to UPP for 2020 and 2021, 17 bumble bee species have been detected throughout Utah, including extremely rare species such as the western and Sonoran bumble bees. In southern Utah, bumble bees were often found at high altitudes or during the cooler or later months of the growing season, while in northern Utah, bumble bees were seen throughout the year at varying elevations. Continuing with the successful format for bumble bee data collection, volunteers will be encouraged to take any opportunistic photographs of any bumble bees encountered from spring through fall, and outreach efforts will continue to target engagement from volunteers in central and southern Utah. These photos will be analyzed by bumble bee experts for species identification to start to fill data gaps regarding the presence, habitat associations, and phenological activity of bumble bees in Utah. For 2021, a map of "high priority" bumble bee survey sites as identified by USGS was created to identify proximity to BLM regional field offices and national forests in Utah. Twelve of these priority sites were visited by agency personnel who agreed to conduct monthly bumble bee surveys and submit their data collection to the UPP form on Survey123. These sites represented several high altitude and remote areas in northwestern, eastern, central and southern Utah with suggested quality bumble bee habitat but no reported bumble bee data. Adverse conditions during the field season, including drought and wildfires, limited the success of these bumble bee survey efforts. Field biologists with BLM and USFS have committed to revisit these and additional high priority sites and conduct additional surveys during the upcoming field season. Task 3 - Redefining Field Protocols and Additional Field Efforts The past three years of engaging community scientists with the assistance of ESMF funding have highlighted ways that our project can improve, including how to extend the usefulness of our collected data to a broader pollinator-focused professional community. For example, other initiatives have developed pollinator habitat assessments with protocols that serve as examples for our improved data collection forms, where appropriate. Additionally, as new information arises regarding species of concern, we are working to modify our data collection format to allow for flexibility in the future. As in previous years, our goal is to recruit as many community science volunteers as possible, and provide a format that is both engaging and safe for participants with respect to comfort, abilities, and COVID-19 guidelines. Participants submitting opportunistic photos of butterflies or bumble bees will use a collection form for the Utah Pollinator Pursuit on their downloaded Survey123 app. The form will request details such as georeferenced location, habitat type and details, species information with identification guides, and information about nectar resources available on site. Drop-down lists will be provided to ensure data quality control, and submissions will require an attached pollinator photograph to be completed. Additional options for species observations will include identification guides for butterfly and bumble bee species not included in previous years' survey forms. Volunteers for habitat assessments will have access to similar, monarch-habitat focused questions, and will also answer questions according to their site survey protocols. To align data formats, survey questions will be similar to those asked by the Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper and Bumble Bee Watch in their monarch, host plant, bee behavior, and floral resources protocols. Bumble bee survey methods at target sites for agency partner biologists will employ protocols developed for the Pacific Northwest Bumble Bee Atlas community science project operated through a joint partnership among the Xerces Society, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Agency partners performing bumble bee surveys will be asked to provide details about voucher specimen collection as part of their data submission. These bumble bee community survey data will be reported to the regional bumble bee database managed by Xerces, as well as to the US Geological Survey and Western Bumble Bee Species Status Assessment technical team led by the USFWS. Task 4 - Collaboration with Agency Partners to Survey Habitat Sites Statewide Partnerships with local offices for federal agencies throughout Utah have enabled better access to public land and more thorough data collection, as well as improved communication with landowners and community members. Monarchs - Because much of the ideal monarch habitat in Utah (wet meadows, stream corridors) are privately owned, our partnership with local NRCS offices and the USFWS partners program make it possible for this program to expand to private property with landowner consent. Additionally, contact with private property owners and Tribal Communities will be facilitated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Conservation Districts for educational purposes and possible access to highly suitable habitat for additional survey plots. NRCS employees as well as Conservation District planners often have the relationships necessary with private landowners who may be interested in allowing volunteers on their property and/or having additional information regarding pollinator presence and diversity. Last field season, these partnerships expanded our habitat data collection into several sites on private land in central Utah, and allowed for better understanding of habitat quality in those areas. By continuing to rely on these partnerships, we hope to build a more complete understanding of monarch habitat availability on privately-owned lands around Utah. Bumble bees - Through a collaborative effort with Wild Bee Project (WBP) and the State rare insect conservation coordinator, we have recruited and enrolled specialists and field technicians from BLM field offices and National Forests to conduct monthly bumble bee surveys and high priority focal sites on public lands. Agency volunteers will be trained in the field by WBP and the rare insect coordinator, so that the hands-on demonstration will also serve as the initial survey for a site. These agency partners have agreed to visit each focal site three times to conduct bumble bee surveys, and will submit data collected through the Survey123 app. Task 5 - USU Student Internship To extend the capacity of field biologist training efforts, and the collection, processing, and management of bumble bee and butterfly data, we will hire a student intern through the Utah State University Quinney College of Natural Resources internship program. The intern will assist the native insect conservation project leader with training agency biologists to perform bumble bee surveys, and with conducting field work and pollinator survey efforts state-wide, as well as performing quality assurance on the observation data submitted by community scientists as it is generated throughout the field season. The intern will also assist with entering vetted insect occurrence data into the State's natural heritage database, which is essential for updating the state ranking for many of these rare species. Through this full-time, 12-week internship, USU will cover half the cost to support the position to ensure that the student gains professional experience with a natural resources agency. The position will begin in mid-May and conclude in mid-August, in accordance with the academic calendar. This internship provides a cost-effective expansion of the rare insect conservation program and enables timely processing of valuable data during the busy field season. Task 6 - Extension of Latino Heritage Internship As a partner with the National Parks Service and Dinosaur National Monument, we hope to once again extend the duration of the Latino Heritage Internship Program's "Science Communication and Resource Monitoring Intern," sponsored by Environment for the Americas. The intern will be responsible for conducting field surveys to collect baseline and repeat data on milkweed presence, and monitoring for monarch and silverspot butterfly occurrence and habitat preference, including tagging and collecting adult monarchs for separate studies. Surveys will occur at both established/designated plots and in "opportunistic" locations within DNM as well as sites in the greater Uinta Basin. The same standardized community science protocols will be implemented for these milkweed and nectar plant surveys, egg and larvae, and adult surveys. The intern will also join participating agency biologists to conduct bumble bee surveys at priority sites in the Uinta Basin. DNM is located in the easternmost portion of the western monarch population's range, where recent genetic data suggest some mixing between western and eastern breeding adults may occur. DNM began limited monitoring of monarchs in 2017-2018 as a result of a new partnership with Southwest Monarch Study. A comprehensive monitoring program began in 2019 with the award of an LHIP intern to DNM. This 2022 internship will continue the work completed in 2020 and 2021, with the intention to expand surveys to more locations throughout eastern Utah, and assist with data quality assurance and quality control on community science data for UPP. DNM is a lead partner in a regional effort of federal, state, and local agencies dedicated to pollinator conservation and education of the local community with a focus on monarchs. The 12-week internship will run from July 10 to October 1, 2021 in order to capture the presence and migration of monarch and silverspot butterflies in DNM. A 3-week extension of intern salary and travel costs would enable the intern to assist state and federal agencies with data collection at sites located outside of the Uinta Basin, and to assist with data processing, and other UPP program needs, including data analysis and QA/QC. This partnership with NPS and DNM continues to yield thorough and vital data that have been methodically collected in some of Utah's critical monarch breeding habitats, especially in regions of the state where volunteer community scientists are unlikely to visit and no previous data exist. Because data collection protocols for the intern will be the same used by volunteers, the data will be comparable and therefore exceptionally valuable for the State of Utah. In the previous two years of this ESMF-funded extension to the internship, LHIP interns have contributed to the rare insect conservation program and the Utah Pollinator Pursuit by creating educational content for the UPP website, assisting with field surveys in central and southern Utah, and performing extremely necessary quality control and species identification on the monarch and bumble bee community science data submitted by UPP volunteers later in the growing season. This extension into October is timely and enables a faster turnaround of data reporting to various databases. Task 7 - Reporting Technicians and USU/DWR staff will compile and organize the data in order to incorporate all information into a written report. Continued communication with WAFWA and WMMM will assure data reported are in a suitable format for incorporation into the regional population monitoring model. Bumble bee photographs and data submitted to the national bumble bee database managed by the Xerces Society will both improve national distribution maps and assist with species identification. Further, systematically-collected bumble bee survey data will be reported to the USFWS to improve their habitat modeling efforts and development of a Western Bumble Bee Species Status Assessment. Project partners will coordinate with Utah's Natural Heritage Database staff to ensure that Utah Pollinator Pursuit data can be delivered in a format that is most useful and streamlined for incorporation into existing database management and maintenance practices. Additionally, the presence of the five pollinator species of concern and associated potentially suitable pollinator habitats, signs of breeding and collection of habitat data (including parameters such as milkweed, flowering plant diversity, and disturbance) using the standardized Survey123 application/field form will continue by partner biologists and community scientists. These data will be collated at the end of the season. Project partners will disseminate data to each regional biologist in a spreadsheet, as well as to the Utah Heritage Program, for ease of reporting and the management of the Natural Heritage database. Data that will continue to be presented at state meetings include number of community scientists, field hours contributed over the season, pollinator presence, lifestage, breeding, and habitat attributes. Agency partners will receive reports and summaries of their survey data contributions and our improved understanding of rare butterfly and bumble bee species distribution. Project outcomes and aforementioned data will also be presented to active and potential future community scientist groups to maintain and improve engagement in Utah Pollinator Pursuit data gathering efforts. Finally, efforts that fulfill conservation strategies outlined in the Western Monarch Conservation Plan will be reported through the state partner portal on WAFWA's Monarch Critical Habitat Assessment Tool (CHAT). Education and outreach activities that benefit monarchs and native pollinators, habitat restoration activities, community scientist training events, and the development of pollinator-friendly best practices will all be reflected as Utah's efforts to fulfill its commitment to the Plan. Task 8 - Local seed Collection for Regionally-Adapted Late-Season Nectar Resources The availability of regionally-adapted native nectar resources is highlighted as a major priority for many conservation strategies focused on supporting pollinators in the West. WAFWA's Western Monarch Conservation Plan, Xerces Society's bumble bee conservation guidelines, and the recently-drafted Pollinator and Monarch Strategy by the Bureau of Land Management all emphasize that nectar availability is a limiting factor for and growing threat to pollinator success, particularly in the late growing season in the arid West. Presently, a majority of the late-season, nectar-providing species for the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin regions are not commercially available. To address this issue in Utah, the rare plant conservation program is taking steps to establish a network of available regionally-adapted nectar plant materials and promote their incorporation into habitat restoration and enhancement projects. The program's botany team is knowledgeable of the location, abundance and time of seed production of many of these species. In 2021, seed for nearly two dozen nectar resource species was collected and distributed to a variety of experienced growers to produce seedlings meant to be incorporated into such future projects. The botany team will continue to collect important nectar resource seed for both seeding and propagation efforts with input from the Great Basin Research Center in Ephraim and other seed increase programs. This task will also be supported by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, as the Pollinator Habitat Improvement Program is also aiming to make pollinator-friendly plants more widely available for habitat projects by both public and government entities. Regional growers have been contracted to produce seedlings that will be planted in strategic areas and become a future seed source for some of these difficult to find species. These contracts and some additional seed collection and cleaning will be made possible through funding from the Pollinator Habitat Improvement Bill passed in FY2021. As we learn more about the capacity and willingness of these greenhouses and growers to grow out nectar species, their experience with these difficult to find species will be shared with other growers and seed producers as potential species for further research/ grow out trials to determine whether and how easily seed could be produced on a larger scale. Task 9 - Maintaining Utah Pollinator Pursuit Website The Utah Pollinator Pursuit website will continue to provide information for participating in community science efforts, educational resources for understanding and supporting pollinator needs, and direct links to partners and collaborators. The UPP page will also continue to serve as a community resource hub in an effort to recognize and improve coordination with the many projects aimed at pollinator conservation in Utah, including resources for landowners to create pollinator habitat, a calendar of related events, and coverage in the press. The UPP page will reflect support from a growing number of nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and community groups. These partners currently include University of Utah, Southern Utah University, Red Butte Garden, the Natural History Museum of Utah, Tracy Aviary, The Hogle Zoo, The Nature Conservancy, Wild Bee Project, Utah Lepidopterist Society, the Butterfly Biosphere at Thanksgiving Point, and local enthusiast groups such as Utah Friends of Monarchs, Monarchs of Bridgerland, Western Monarch Pollinator Pathways, Utah Butterfly Field Trips, and Salt Lake Bug Lovers.

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The Western Monarch Conservation Plan 2019-2069 outlines several areas in which to assist with recovery actions. Strategies are explained for different types of lands including natural, developed, urban, and agricultural. Further, outreach and education is a key part of the strategies for each land type. In response to the exceptionally low overwintering count for the western monarch in the winters of 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 Xerces Society published a 5-point rapid-response action plan for monarch recovery. In that rapid response plan, point #4 is to "Protect, manage, and restore summer breeding and fall migration monarch habitat outside California." The work accomplished by this proposed project will help pinpoint where restoration efforts will be most effective in Utah.

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If any habitat assessments or surveys occur on private lands, a steward (NRCS or Conservation District representative) will be present and will have coordinated with the landowner before any volunteers would be invited to assist in survey efforts on a property. Collections of bumble bee species voucher specimens on public lands will be conducted with permission where required (specifically per National Forests that require collections permits) and disclosure to regional BLM and USFS offices for where permits are not required. Bumble bees collected on private property will first receive permission from property owners.

Survey Methods for Suitable Monarch Habitat - Enrolling volunteers to adopt and monitor monarch habitat sites in 2021 was successful and informative. We received 177 total observations for 30 stewardship sites, and 69 positive opportunistic monarch observations (with a total of 172 positive detections for monarch and milkweed). These observations yielded valuable monarch habitat data, and highlighted a continued need for habitat data in areas of Utah. The UPP Survey123 data collection form questions will be modified to clarify assessor expectations and produce higher quality assessment data. Monarch butterfly habitat assessment sites with outstanding data gaps will be again identified for volunteer sign-up on the UPP website, with associated site location, directions, species identification tips, and an outlined survey protocol, to assist with preferred stewardship site selection. Once enrolled, volunteer assessors will receive important site details that include maps on aerial images showing vegetation cover, land ownership boundaries, road names and prominent landmarks, and a suggested survey starting point identified on the map. Volunteers will also be encouraged to find milkweed patches on their own and follow the same habitat assessment protocol. Habitat assessments include: Data entry for habitat assessments will be submitted through a designated form on the Utah Pollinator Pursuit project in Survey123. The form will request details from at least one 50-pace transect, such as presence of milkweed along the transect, and photos from the transect's halfway point in each of the 4 cardinal directions to show the type and condition of the habitat. Volunteers will submit photos of the milkweed, estimate the number of plants in the patch, and note any monarch activity. If there are milkweed stands, we ask the volunteers to spend a minimum of 30 minutes per 100 stems of milkweed searching for evidence of monarch breeding (eggs, caterpillars, butterflies). This standard amount of time is hoped to set a standard level of effort for breeding monarch surveys. Habitat assessment questions in the Utah Pollinator Pursuit will be modified as necessary to collect useful information about habitat conditions, such as abundance and diversity of nectar resources at the site. In addition to habitat site assessments, we will encourage volunteers to submit any opportunistic sightings of monarch butterflies at all life stages encountered across Utah from spring to early fall. We welcome any participation from community scientists who prefer a lower level of commitment. Survey Methods for Bumble Bees - Since piloting bumble data collection with UPP in 2020, volunteers have submitted more than 1200 sightings of 17 confirmed bumble bee species encountered across the state. The 2021 field season included the addition of deliberate, repeated site surveys by agency volunteers, and resulted in the collection of 57 bumble bee specimens representing 14 species, including target species such as the western bumble bee. The UPP data collection form was designed to request information for both opportunistic and site survey submissions, and offered species identification guides. These details include bumble bee behavior, flowers visited, habitat quality, nectar plant identification, with associated photo uploads. We have augmented the species identification guide with new information, and will again ask community science and agency volunteers to submit bumble bee data through the UPP data collection form on Survey123. requested details on behavior, flowers visited, habitat quality, and suggested species identification, along with photo uploads. Thanks to the detection of western bumble bees by community scientists and agency field biologists in the Wasatch Mountains, Cache County, the Uinta Basin, and Dixie National Forest, we have improved information on potential rare bumble bee habitat. Our bee experts (Wild Bee Project and the State's rare insect conservation coordinator) will offer training refreshers for agency volunteers to conduct bumble bee surveys at focal sites across the state. Agency volunteers will visit a survey site once a month for at least three consecutive months, beginning as early as May in southwestern Utah, or as late as August in southeastern Utah, as target species in different regions fly earlier or later in the year. Biologists visiting a survey site will first record numbers of participating observers, relative cloud cover, habitat type and quality, and plant species in bloom at their site. Volunteers will be asked to spend 45 person-minutes (45 minutes/ # people) searching within an area of 2.5 acres with abundant floral resources, to locate and record any bumble bees present. If bumble bees are detected, volunteers will take photographs of the bees and note their behavior (foraging on flowers, resting on flowers/stems, or walking/digging in soil). Photos of bumble bees, nectar resources, and habitat will be submitted through the UPP Survey123 app. Submitted data (including georeferenced photographs) will be evaluated by trained bumble bee experts and assessed for quality control and species identification. No information on bumble bees will be accepted without an accompanying photo.

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Partners include the Utah State University, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Wild Bee Project, Bureau of Land Management in Utah, US Forest Service Utah offices, Dinosaur National Monument, Utah Department of Corrections Greenhouse Program, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, University of Utah, Red Butte Gardens, The Hogle Zoo, the Natural History Museum of Utah, Tracy Aviary, The Nature Conservancy,Utah Lepidopterist Society, the Butterfly Biosphere at Thanksgiving Point, Utah Friends of Monarchs, Monarchs of Bridgerland, Western Monarch Pollinator Pathways, Utah Butterfly Field Trips, and Salt Lake Bug Lovers.

As a more comprehensive data set for suitable pollinator habitat and distribution of insect species is developed, this project will apply to ongoing and future planning efforts for the protection, restoration, and creation of monarch butterfly and bumble bee habitat. Land owners and managers will have an improved understanding of priority locations for habitat enhancement and creation, as well as the necessary diversity of plant communities that support pollinating insects. It is hoped that the information generated from these surveys will facilitate a more directed approach to addressing conservation needs for the target species. Additionally, the expansion of these efforts to focus on more insect pollinator species will include the goal of diversifying funding sources to reduce funding asks from the State of Utah in the future.

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07/01/2022

06/30/2023

2023

Multiple native Utah insect pollinator species are now being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The monarch butterfly was designated in 2020 as a candidate for protection under the ESA, and faces a follow-up listing decision in FY24. The Nokomis silverspot butterfly was proposed for a threatened listing in May 2022 and pending a final rule; and the western bumble bee faces an upcoming listing decision in FY25. The species status assessment process has begun for the Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee and American bumble bee (and its subspecies the Sonoran bumble bee). Furthermore, a notice of intent to petition the Morrison's bumble bee for a threatened listing was received by Western states in Summer 2023. The need for current and widespread data for these species is immediate and necessary to inform such listing decisions by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, as well as for developing conservation strategies and best habitat management practices. Community scientists and agency field biologists contributed voluntary observation data for occurrences of monarch, milkweed, and bumble bee species to improve understanding of distribution and needs of these species in Utah and potentially prevent the need for ESA listings. This project continues several years of successful efforts with community scientists and took place throughout Utah, with additional concentration on the regions with outstanding data gaps. Between July 1st 2022 and June 30th 2023 we have trained and coordinated approximately 250 community science volunteers who have contributed more than 475 hours to submitting data for opportunistic and previously-selected site surveys. Our in-person training event on April 22, 2023, was attended by 168 community science volunteers, and the recorded training was accessible on the Utah Pollinator Pursuit and Sageland Collaborative websites for additional reference. Volunteers using the UPP form on the Survey123 app reported at least 100 monarchs at various life stages, 670 bumble bees representing 17 detected species, and 10 potential monarch habitat sites were assessed by volunteers. Monarch butterfly sightings were reported by volunteers in all 29 Utah counties. Agency biologists who conducted volunteer bumble bee surveys visited 9 high priority sites, as well as additional sites when possible, in remote areas on public lands across Utah. Additionally, in a first for the UPP project, 7 rare butterfly sightings were submitted to Survey123 -- most notably including a habitat site visit and submission of 17 Nokomis silverspot males and 6 females. These data were recorded through the Utah Pollinator Pursuit collection form developed for this project in the Survey123 application and then incorporated into a statewide database managed by insect conservation coordinator, Amanda Barth, which has also been streamlined for incorporation into the Utah Natural Heritage Program and NatureServe databases. Bumble bee specimens collected by agency biologists around Utah have been gathered by Amanda Barth for pinning and species confirmation, and will be donated to the bee collection at Utah State University where specimen details will be digitized and publicly-accessible.

Tasks completed in FY23 include: Volunteer recruitment, training, and engagement efforts were both in-person and recorded for perpetuity and accessibility on project webpages. Sageland Collaborative (formerly Wild Utah Project) and USU created outreach materials, instructional videos, printable species identification guides, and live webinar and volunteer appreciation events that were accessible through the UPP project website and Sageland Collaborative's webpage and social media accounts. To target specific habitat quality and occupancy questions, a monarch habitat assessment protocol was developed and a select number of sites were suggested for volunteer monarch habitat assessment efforts. Agency biologists were trained on-site (or retrained via video call) at high priority habitat locations on BLM and USFS land, to demonstrate correct bumble bee survey protocols at locations designated by a western bumble bee habitat model developed by USGS. The Utah Pollinator Pursuit data collection form on Survey123 was updated for accuracy and to facilitate submission of bumble bee survey data by agency biologists. Quality assurance and control was performed largely by the Rare Insect Conservation Intern, an ESMF-funded position matched by the USU QCNR Student Internship Program; this intern spent most of their position assisting with bumble bee surveys and trainings, species identification, and data processing for monarchs and bumble bees such as data entry into the Natural Heritage Program database (Biotics). Monarch and bumble bee data collected through the 2022 field season were reported to the Western Monarch and Milkweed Mapper and Bumble Bee Watch (both managed by Xerces Society), as well as the Utah Natural Heritage Program database through Biotics. These current data will enable the generation of updated state conservation rankings. Bumble bee data were also shared with the USFWS Pacific Northwest regional office leading the species status assessments for Western, Suckley's cuckoo, and other petitioned/under-review bumble bee species. The botany crew, led by native plant conservation coordinator Mindy Wheeler, continued to collect seed from native plant species to be distributed to local growers and used in future pollinator habitat restoration projects. One such project is the Utah Pollinator Habitat Program, which opened its second year of habitat kit applications in Spring 2023, and received more than 340 applications for restoration projects in 24 Utah counties seeking to plant 35,000 native pollinator-friendly plants. Sageland Collaborative has maintained and updated the Utah Pollinator Pursuit website, including organizing content and facilitating public engagement and education. The website includes community resources, an events calendar, all training materials and species guides, and recommendations for landowners to create pollinator habitat. In addition, Sageland Collaborative sent 9 pollinator emails to 663 subscribers on the Pollinator list. Of those 9 formal communication emails, 6 were newsletters/recruitment/larger emails, and 3 were training and event reminders.

We recommend continuing to advance the non-profit and agency coordination required to utilize community scientists in work relating to these pollinator species. Community science programing is vital for assisting USU and UDWR in efforts that involve gathering pollinator and associated habitat distribution data, continual monitoring on known populations and habitat sites, and expansion of potential survey areas in the future. Additionally, this project aims to collaborate with organizations such as the Xerces Society to expand formal bumble bee surveys statewide, employing the protocol used by agency biologist volunteers since 2021, which will allow for standardized species distribution assessments across their native ranges. These data help identify habitat restoration and management priorities for monarch butterflies, silverspot butterflies, and petitioned bumble bee species that may mitigate the need for protective action under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).