California is home to 25 species of bumble bees, many of which face an uncertain future. Several species, including the western bumble bee, Crotch's bumble bee, the Suckely cuckoo bumble bee, and Franklin's bumble bee, have recently experienced significant declines. In order to conserve them, the Xerces Society has partnered with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to launch the California Bumble Bee Atlas. A key aspect of this work is to train a team of volunteers equipped with nets and cameras spread throughout the state to help us understand where these species are still living, and in which habitats they thrive. This California Bumble Bee Atlas workshop is your opportunity to join the collaborative effort to track and conserve California's bumble bees!
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Leif Richardson
Conservation Biologist, California Bumble Bee Atlas - The Xerces Society
Leif Richardson is an ecologist whose work focuses on North American bumble bees, including their natural history, taxonomy, and conservation needs. He has master’s and doctoral degrees in ecology and evolutionary biology, both obtained following extensive field and lab research on the ecology of pollination interactions between bees and plants. He recently joined the Xerces Society as a conservation biologist, and is running the California Bumble Bee Atlas. Leif previously worked as an environmental consultant, conducting regulatory studies on risk of pesticide exposure to bumblebees, and as an ecologist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Leif is the author of numerous publications on bees, as well as co-author of Bumble Bees of North America: an Identification Guide (2014), the standard reference manual on this group of invertebrate wildlife in California and beyond. Leif is an expert in the inventory and identification of bumble bees, and has extensive experience training others to collect bumble bee distribution data in the field.
Rich Hatfield
Senior Conservation Biologist, Bumble Bee Conservation Lead - The Xerces Society
Rich Hatfield is a senior endangered species conservation biologist, and leads Xerces' bumble bee conservation program. He has a master's degree in conservation biology, with a focus on the ecology and habitat needs of bumble bees. Rich has authored several publications on bumble bee conservation and taught bumble bee management and identification courses throughout North America. Rich helped develop and launch the community science website Bumble Bee Watch (www.BumbleBeeWatch.org), which has attracted over 30,000 users throughout North America, and gathered over 80,000 photo observations of North American bumble bees since 2014. He also serves as the coordinator for both the Pacific Northwest and California Bumble Bee Atlas projects. In addition to his work with bumble bees, Rich has investigated native bee pollination in agricultural systems in the Central Valley of California, and studied endangered butterflies in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado and throughout the Pacific Northwest.