x

Press & Media

Press & Media

Xerces Society staff are respected as reliable sources of science-based advice at the forefront of invertebrate protection, and can provide information and perspective on all aspects of invertebrate conservation.

Our team includes nationally recognized experts on a range of issues, including insect declines, protecting endangered species, climate change impacts, pollinator conservation, pesticide risk, habitat creation, and wildlife gardening. We work to understand and protect insects and other invertebrates in all landscapes, from wildlands to backyards.

In each of the last three years, Xerces staff were quoted or our work was mentioned in thousands of media articles that reached over one billion people worldwide.

We’re happy to give media interviews. Please direct all inquiries to Matthew Shepherd, (503) 232-6639 or [email protected]. 

For general information about our work, please see our blog, publications, and other information on our website. Follow us on social media for the latest updates, as well.

Recent Press Releases

Nevada Bill Would Let State Wildlife Agency Conserve Monarchs, Other Pollinators

Nevada’s Assembly Natural Resources Committee will consider a bill today that would give the state’s Department of Wildlife authority to manage pollinators and other insects that need conservation. Insects, including monarch butterflies and other pollinators, are not defined as wildlife under state law, which means the department has no authority to protect them. Assembly Bill 221 would change that by defining “non-pest invertebrate wildlife species of greatest conservation need” as wildlife.

Study: Connecting Habitat in the Central Valley Could Help Save California’s Pollinators

A study published today in the journal PLOS ONE finds that planting the margins of agricultural fields with pollinator-friendly plants and minimizing pesticide use in the Central Valley of California could help pollinators survive in this highly altered landscape. In addition to allowing pollinators to move across the landscape, over 1 million acres of habitat could be added to the Central Valley by restoring drainage ditches, field edges and uncultivated borders.

Western Monarch Count Tallies Over 330,000 Butterflies

In the weeks before heavy rains battered the California coast, volunteers grabbed their binoculars and headed out in an annual pilgrimage for a beloved animal. This year, their efforts for the 26th Western Monarch Count paid off with good news: a final tally of 335,479 butterflies during the study’s Thanksgiving counting period.

California Supreme Court Lets Decision Stand that Bees Can Be Protected by the California Endangered Species Act

On September 21, 2022, in a major victory for California’s native bees, California’s Supreme Court denied review of a petition filed by a consortium of agricultural and pesticide interests that sought to appeal a lower court decision that determined that four species of imperiled native bumble bees are eligible for protection under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). These four species – the western, Franklin’s, Suckley cuckoo, and Crotch’s bumble bee – have declined extensively from their historic ranges and urgently need the protection that CESA can provide in order to stave off extinction.

More Than One Million Save the Bees with Bee City USA

It is no secret that pollinators like bees and butterflies have been facing numerous threats, including habitat loss and pesticide use. Yet for more than one million participants in the nationwide Bee City USA program have taken the pollinators’ plight as an opportunity to get to work.

For General Media Inquiries

Contact Matthew Shepherd

Phone: (503) 232-6639

Email: [email protected]

Xerces in the News

Check out our reach and view a listing of articles from around the world featuring the Xerces Society.