Multiple native Utah insect pollinator species are being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The monarch butterfly has recently been announced as a candidate under the ESA, determined as warranted for listing in December 2020 but precluded by higher priority listing decisions, with annual reviews until a listing decision is made. The Nokomis silverspot butterfly and western bumble bee face upcoming listing decisions in federal FY21 and FY23, respectively, and the formal review process has begun for the recently petitioned Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee and American bumble bee. 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 the state would be subject to regulatory burdens associated with the ESA that would likely affect current resource use and development within the range of the species (see attached distribution maps for species on the USFWS listing workplan). In an effort to prevent these potential listings in the near future, it is essential to further develop the species occupancy records and conservation efforts initiated in 2019 to better understand the status, distribution and needs of these species in Utah. The western population of the monarch butterfly has declined to less than 0.5% 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 is now fewer than 2,000 individuals, and summer breeding grounds for western monarchs occur across Utah. The Nokomis [also called the Great Basin] silverspot butterfly, a fritillary subspecies that relies on limited, high-altitude wetland habitat, has been disappearing from many of its known historical population sites, and is currently only known to occur in five major populations. With the ongoing fragmentation of this critical riparian habitat and the isolation of silverspot populations, the resulting subspecies face an increased risk of extinction. The western 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. 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 host species. The American bumble bee, formerly common in grasslands across North America, has an estimated decline of 57% across its range. Its historical range includes northeastern Utah, and may also include that of the Sonoran bumble bee, considered a likely subspecies, with a range that extends into southwestern Utah. As mentioned above, each of these species are currently under review or consideration for Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing, with decisions to be made within the next few years. 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. Serious data gaps exist in Utah for the distribution, abundance, and habitat use of these disappearing insect populations. Such evidence is vital to inform management decisions to protect, enhance, and create essential pollinator habitat. 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 population of monarchs. Implementation of such a program that benefits monarchs and other pollinators will need to rely heavily on thorough, regular and statewide data collection, and utilize the contributions of volunteer community scientists to carry out the work required to identify butterfly and bumble bee species and locations. Engaging community members is also necessary to support habitat restoration and creation throughout the state, which would in turn enhance ecosystem services and benefit other species of conservation need. Initial Utah-wide surveys for monarch activity and habitat were successfully conducted through a community science project in 2019 and 2020 funded through ESMF. Enlisting volunteers to visit sites and record observations has allowed for rapid and valuable data collection within a single season. Key insights from these seasons include the presence of likely suitable monarch breeding habitat across the state, and that milkweed alone was not a predictor of monarch activity. It remains unclear what factors influence the presence of monarchs, partly due to the incomplete habitat suitability data for southern Utah's wetlands, which are largely privately held. 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, including the presence of available late-summer nectar resources. By continuing to utilize a community that is motivated to contribute to data collection, and through refined techniques and technology, this project will create opportunities for volunteers to monitor suitable habitat for monarchs at all life stages, and contribute observations of bumble bees in varying habitats statewide. The monarch and host plant data will also continue to be reported to 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. The USFWS western bumble bee species status assessment (WWB SSA) will be ongoing until a listing decision is made in FY23. To coordinate the data collection needed for the WBB occupancy model, the US Geological Survey designed a sampling protocol and identified high priority areas where serious data gaps exist. Across Utah, many of these high priority areas occur on public land, and BLM and FS biologists from regional offices and National Forests near these focus sites have agreed to assist with the bumble bee surveys and necessary repeated visits. Data collected through these surveys will be submitted through Survey123, reviewed for quality and accuracy, and then reported to FWS. This will inform both state habitat management decisions and the model development for the SSA. This is also an opportunity to train agency partners in pollinator survey methods and promote awareness of Utah's native and rare species. Furthermore, community science volunteers will build on the successful data collection of all native bumble bees, which in 2020 allowed for the submission of more than 200 bumble bee observations, and detected 17 species, including six Suckley's cuckoo bumble bees and one American bumble bee. All opportunistic sightings will be encouraged, and some focal destinations will be recommended to enthusiastic volunteers. In 2020, in response to COVID-19 safety requirements, Wild Utah Project and project leads Mindy Wheeler and Amanda Barth pivoted very quickly in advance of the previously scheduled in-person training event to an online training, providing volunteers with the opportunity to safely participate in a live and/or recorded webinar. During the onset of the pandemic and in March and April the partners developed new training and instructional videos, online availability of printable field materials, waivers, additional live interactive webinar events, an

The goal of this project is to continue to build the informational foundation necessary to address the needs of these species in an effort to prevent listings. The objectives are to fill data gaps for distribution and habitat use throughout the state that is necessary to be able to strategically plan for the future conservation efforts. The first major objective of this work is to gain a better understanding of monarch habitat and utilization in Utah. This will happen through monitoring for monarch presence in suitable habitat locations throughout the breeding season, as well as conducting habitat assessments throughout the state. The second major objective is to obtain more thorough bumble bee distribution and habitat use 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 this year will continue the format of previous years, with announcements through various networks and channels within and outside of UDWR. Some of these include local organizations and entities such as Wild Utah Project, Utah Lepidopterist Society, Hogle Zoo, Red Butte Gardens, The Nature Conservancy, Butterfly Biosphere at Thanksgiving Point, Utah Lepidopterist Society, Utah Native Plant Society, the Bureau of Land Management, and local monarch and pollinator enthusiast groups. This year will also include the addition of direct communication with more rural communities to get involved in habitat survey efforts. To this end, we hope to take advantage of two existing projects that have engaged communities and established relationships. Firstly, we will follow up on the efforts of the Utah Monarch Advocates group who have made several contacts through the Utah State Workforce Services Office, and are developing a public relations campaign to reward $50 to the first person in each rural county who submits a photograph of a live monarch. The Workforce Services office will also distribute monarch butterfly information through the following outlets: a) Regional Planners, who have asked planners to include monarch resources in their newsletters and advertise to their communities. b) Rural Coordinating Council members, who have agreed to share monarch resources in a monthly newsletter distributed to a group of 30+ service providers that work in rural Utah. c) Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative, who run a program out of the Workforce Services office and includes colleagues from state parks, nonprofits, rural communities. The coordinator of this program will be contacted to see whether they would be interested in sharing monarch resources. d) The Workforce Services office has a monthly newsletter with 600+ contacts across the state, which can include seasonally appropriate information on monarchs and habitat. A second action will involve working with local NRCS and Conservation District offices who have established relationships with landowners in their respective areas. We hope to find private property owners interested and excited about pollinator habitat and pollinator health. We will identify specific data needs by region and ascertain whether they wish to conduct the habitat assessments on their own property, or if they would prefer to host a few community scientists on their property to assist in collecting information. This task will include an improved data collection layout within Survey123 and a training for volunteers and agency partners that can be accessed any time on the web. Volunteer training events will allow interested citizens to sign up in one place to reduce redundancies and duplication of efforts throughout the community. This task also includes the training of community scientists on the survey protocols, milkweed and floral resource recognition, identification of monarchs at all life stages, and guidelines for bumblebee identification for photographing bumble bees when observed. The volunteers will also receive training on the use of the "Utah Pollinator Pursuit'' project on the ESRI Survey123 app. The training is to be recorded and posted on the internet for citizens to be able to access throughout the season. Training events will be conducted in several communities to encourage interest and data collection throughout the state. Up to three regions of the state will be targeted according to the greatest need for data to fill data gaps as well as the highest potential for success with community scientists. Local knowledge from partners throughout the state will enable us to effectively target these regions and landowners. Additionally, all training materials will be available on the Utah Pollinator Pursuit website for access at any time. Volunteers will be provided site information to help them better understand their requested tasks as Habitat assessors for monarch habitat, including directions to site location, a description of terrain, land ownership details, and what to anticipate when surveying the area for monarch habitat. Similarly, this information will be available when volunteers consider participating through our online portal. Task 2 - Prioritizing Field Sites Across Utah According to Previous Field Efforts and Existing Data Gaps As public awareness and involvement in Utah Pollinator Pursuit has increased, there has been a growing interest from agency personnel and community members to share their knowledge and expertise regarding specific locations of monarch and bumble bee 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 assess monarch habitat on their own properties, or alternatively welcome volunteers to assist them, and emphasize involvement from communities outside of Utah's urban centers. Additionally, approximately 20 targeted monarch habitat assessment or survey sites will be generated throughout the State of Utah based on 2019 and 2020 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. By focusing on suitable habitat for monarch breeding, volunteers can gather important information on the potential use of these sites by monarch butterflies 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 bee sightings in Utah have primarily been through deliberate surveys of subalpine insect communities, though some opportunistic observations have been reported by the community during recreational activities. Based on data submitted to Utah Pollinator Pursuit through Survey123 in 2020, as many as 15 bumble bee species were detected throughout Utah, including extremely rare species such as the Suckley's cuckoo and American 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

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.

If any survey plots are 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.

Survey Methods for Suitable Monarch Habitat: The pilot project for enrolling volunteers to adopt and monitor monarch habitat sites in 2020 was successful and informative. We received 177 observations for 30 stewardship sites as well as 69 positive opportunistic monarch observations (with a total of 172 data collection points for both monarch and milkweed). These observations produced valuable monarch habitat data, and highlighted the need for adjustments to the data collection form on the Survey123 app that enable higher quality data collection. As a continuation of last year's pilot effort, monarch butterfly habitat assessment sites will be identified for volunteers to sign up for on our website. Volunteers will be provided information such as site location, directions, identification tips, and an outlined survey protocol, to help them select their preferred stewardship site. Once enrolled, volunteers 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: First visit - volunteers will search for milkweed patches early in the growing season; as few as 10 plants to any number of milkweed plants. Volunteers will map the stewardship site by concentrating on the stand of milkweed using the Survey123 project "Utah Pollinator Pursuit," and take photos of the milkweed and estimate the number of plants in the patch Subsequent monthly visits to the same patch(es) of milkweed will entail spending 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. In addition, during these monthly visits, volunteers will gather details on the availability and abundance of nectar resources as well as any monarch breeding phenology and life stage. All requested information can be entered on the data collection form in Survey123. The ESRI Survey123 application project "Utah Pollinator Pursuit" will be modified from previous years to better enable the collection of more useful information about habitat conditions, such as abundance and diversity of nectar resources at the site. Data control categories of flower color and shape will be entered into the app along with photos to assist with flower identification by trained botanists. This category is important because experts believe that floral nectar resources in the arid west may be the more limiting factor for monarchs than milkweed. In addition to habitat site assessment and monitoring, 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. Pilot Survey Methods for Bumble Bees: In 2020, volunteers were asked to record and submit any opportunistic sightings of bumble bees they encountered across the state. The data form requested details on behavior, flowers visited, habitat quality, and suggested species identification, along with photo uploads. More than 200 bumble bee sightings with photos were submitted from across Utah, representing 15 confirmed species. This pilot effort was such a success that we intend to expand on this portion of the project by improving the data collection form questions and species guide illustrations. We will again ask volunteers to submit all opportunistic sightings with photographs of bumble bees encountered in Utah through the Survey123 app. Thanks to the detection of Suckley's cuckoo bumble bees by community scientists in the Wasatch Mountains, we have improved information on potential rare bumble bee habitat. This year we will recruit several volunteers to accompany our experts to assist with and receive training on dedicated bumble bee surveys at select alpine sites, with the intent that these surveys happen once monthly for three months (June, July, and August). Locations will have maps with corresponding aerial features, landmarks and trail identification, area trail maps and directions to sites will be provided. Sampling methods for bumble bees will also employ the "Utah Pollinator Pursuit" project on the Survey123 app, and protocol will be consistent with bumble bee surveys conducted by agency volunteers. Our bee experts (Wild Bee Project and the State's rare insect conservation coordinator) will train agency volunteers to conduct bumble bee surveys at focal sites across the state. During June, July, and August, agency volunteers 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). Volunteers will also be asked to photograph nectar resources, and submit all photos through the Survey123 app. Data collected (including georeferenced photographs) will be evaluated by 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 Division of Wildlife Resources, Wild Bee Project, Bureau of Land Management in Utah, US Forest Service Utah offices, Dinosaur National Monument, The Hogle Zoo, The Nature Conservancy, the Natural History Museum of Utah, Utah State Prison, Young Living, Tracy Aviary, Utah Lepidopterist Society, the Butterfly Biosphere at Thanksgiving Point, Monarchs of the Wasatch Front, 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.

07/01/2021

06/30/2022

2022

Multiple native Utah insect pollinator species are 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 early 2022, and the western bumble bee faces an upcoming listing decision in FY24. Furthermore, the formal review process has begun for the recently petitioned Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee and American bumble bee. 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. 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 last year's successful efforts with community scientists and took place throughout Utah, with additional concentration on the regions with outstanding data gaps. Between July 1st 2021 and June 30th 2022 we have trained and coordinated approximately 200 community science volunteers who have conducted more than 1,000 opportunistic and previously selected site surveys, reporting at least 171 monarchs at various life stages, 846 bumble bees representing 17 detected species (including 14 species collected as voucher specimens), and more than 20 potential monarch habitat sites were visited by volunteer stewards. Monarch butterfly sightings were reported by volunteers in 25 of Utah's 29 counties. Agency biologists who conducted volunteer bumble bee surveys visited 12 high priority sites in remote areas on public lands across Utah. 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 were transferred to the arthropod collection at the Natural History of Utah, which serves as the State's repository of insect specimens and provides these digitally-accessible records to the public.

Tasks completed in FY22 include: Volunteer recruitment, training, and engagement efforts remained virtual during 2021 and 2022, in response to ongoing COVID-19 safety recommendations. 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. Based on 2020 community science data, an additional 20+ stewardship sites were suggested for volunteer monarch habitat assessment efforts. Agency biologists were trained on-site 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 in part by the "science communication and resource monitoring intern" as an ESMF-funded extension of the Latino Heritage Internship Program; this intern spent most of their position conducting field surveys with our partner the National Parks Service (at Dinosaur National Monument) and assisted with late-season data processing for monarchs and bumble bees. Monarch and bumble bee data collected through the 2021 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. 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 commenced its first year of applications on July 1, 2022, and received more than 360 applications for restoration projects seeking native pollinator-friendly plant materials. Sageland Collaborative has maintained and updated the Utah Pollinator Pursuit website, including organizing content and facilitating public engagement and education. The site 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 15 pollinator emails to 564 subscribers on the Pollinator list, with a 45-48% open rate. Of those 15 emails, 8 were newsletters/recruitment/larger emails, and 7 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. 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).