Small but mighty: Pollinators (Bumbles) of the Montana/Dakotas

Story by Chris Boone, BLM Montana/Dakotas State Biologist 

They may be small, but they are mighty. 

Pollinators such as bumble bees (bumbles) play a crucial role in flowering plant reproduction, production of most fruits and vegetables, and maintenance of terrestrial productivity throughout native ecosystems across our landscapes, including our BLM managed lands.  

Eighty percent of the world’s flowering plants and more than three-fourths of the world’s crops rely on pollination, a multi-billion-dollar economic value. However, current decline in the health and population of our bumbles and other pollinators pose a substantial threat to biodiversity, global food webs, and human health.   

In 2018, BLM Montana/Dakotas State Office botany, wildlife and monitoring leads and the South Dakota wildlife biologist embarked in a collaborative effort under an Intra-Agency Agreement with USGS, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, and the Glacier Field Station. Together they are helping to facilitate and guide the development of standard survey protocols for pollinators, initially focusing on species inventory and collection of bumbles within the Montana/Dakotas. Using this information, our objective is to better inform our land management and planning efforts in order to develop various conservation strategies for bumbles, especially species such as the Western bumble bee, at risk of becoming listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  

In 2018, sampling was opportunistically conducted on Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) and other sites as the group experimented with sampling in order to evaluate time, equipment, and training requirements and consider whether and how to train BLM field crews to conduct surveys.  In 2019, USGS continued its work and conducted baseline inventory using a hybrid sample design, along with continued opportunistic sampling from BLM crews and assistance from the Montana Natural Heritage Program. To date, 178 sites have been visited, including 115 BLM AIM sites and 42 Western bumble bee grid cells, totaling 1,014 bee samples with 577 of these collected as physical specimens (specimens pinned, identified, and tagged for archive). Of the 577 specimens, 23 species have been identified. 

Using bumbles as the pilot focus in 2020 and beyond, efforts are expected to improve our knowledge of pollinators, expanding this into our multiple use principles and forwarding our efforts of habitat and species conservation, upward population trends and avoiding the need for listing under ESA. Working cooperatively and sharing our resources results in cost-savings and efficiencies for both the BLM and USGS and other cooperators interested in the conservation of pollinators.  

Without collaboration and mindful proactive conservation, the future existence of our bumbles is at stake.  Our reliance on pollinators is obvious, our responsibility as conservationist is undoubtedly expected because a world without pollinators will be a world without people.