June 24-30, 2007 Is National Pollinator Week

By U.S. Senate resolution 580 and the proclamation by USDA Secretary Johanns, June 24-30, 2007, has been designated National Pollinator Week.  Secretary Johanns called upon the people of the United States to “join me in celebrating the vital significance of pollinators to agriculture and to public lands as well as the Department’s conservation assistance to farmers and ranchers and its management of ecosystems providing valuable pollinator habitats throughout the Nation.”

Activities taking place across the country during National Pollinator Week ―
• A First Day of Issue Ceremony held by the U.S. Postal Service in Washington, D.C. for the new Pollination Stamp Series and will feature Secretary Johanns and Postmaster General John Potter.
• In Washington D.C., Dr. May Berenbaum, internationally recognized entomologist and Dr. E.O. Wilson will speak on the pollinator-agriculture connection.
• In Kansas, artist Stan Herd will create a one-acre crop art version of the U.S. Postal Service dogface butterfly stamp, one of four in the "Pollination" series designed for Pollinator Week. Watch this crop art “grow.”
Other events planned across the nation during National Pollinator Week, information about pollinators and pollinator habitat preservation, printable material, and outstanding images of the Pollination Stamp Series, are available at the Pollinator Partnership Website.
Your contact is Doug Holy, NRCS National Invasive Species Specialist and NHQ Pollinator Contact, at 202-720-9096.