Conserving Habitat Sample Clauses

Conserving Habitat. Recognition of rights-of-way as habitat for monarchs and other pollinators has been growing in recent years. According to a literature review completed by Xxxxxx and Xxxxxxxx (2012), there is a range of research supporting the value of corridor management for pollinator conservation. Xxxxxxx et al. (2005) investigated whether selective herbicide use within rights-of-way might produce higher quality habitat for native bees as compared to mowing. After studying bees collected within managed rights-of-way and nearby mowed fields at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (Maryland), Xxxxxxx et al. (2005) found that transmission line sites had more spatially and numerically rare species than the grassy fields undergoing a similar management regime. Xxxxxx and Xxxxxxxx (2012) note that many pollinators, including butterflies and bees, prefer the early successional habitats maintained in established rights-of-way for foraging. They note that the open sunny conditions are likely habitats for pollinators. Food plants used by butterflies and other pollinators often change between seasons and years due to shifts in the composition of the flowering community. This suggests that restoration and conservation focused on plant diversity is important (Xxxx et al. 2011 citing Dupont et al. 2009, Xxxxxx et al. 2008, and Xxxxxxxxx et al. 2008). March 2020 Expected Benefits 66 Within the context of rights-of-way and land management, use of integrated vegetation management and a suite of land management techniques have been found to benefit pollinators, including butterflies. For example, occasional mowing in rights-of-way (once or twice a year) has been found to increase occurrences of bees and butterflies due to increased food plant availability and openness needed for sunning purposes. Overall, mowing was found to be better than no mowing (Champagne and Xxxxxxxx 2000 and Noordijk et al. 2009). Xxxxxxx et al. (1999) similarly found greater butterfly diversity in land management systems that used herbicide treatment that specifically focused on the reduction or removal of grasses and trees.