Download Data Sheet

Habitat Assessment Overview
Habitat Assessments will take place at all point and roadside surveys. These assessments help us gain a better understanding of what habitat features are important for bumble bees and provide insight on how to better manage our lands to promote bumble bee conservation. You will conduct one habitat assessment per point survey, and 5 habitat assessments per roadside survey (1 per stop).

You can do your habitat surveys before or after your bumble bee survey,  but they do need to be done on the same day to ensure the habitat conditions correspond to the observed bumble bee community. These surveys should take no more than 30 minutes, and the time needed will vary depending on a surveyor's experience and the habitat complexity.

To complete this form you will need:

1. The datasheet
2. A local wildflower plant guide

Conducting a Habitat Assessment
Step 1: Fill out Site Information

1. The site name should be the same site name you use for your Bumble Bee observations.
2. Enter the date and survey type. If conducting a roadside survey, keep track of which survey you are on, you will complete 5 in total.​

Step 2: Fill out Habitat Information

1. Check one primary habitat type to represent the survey area from the list provided.
2. Check the top three habitat types that represent the surrounding area (surrounding area refers to habitat just beyond the direct survey area, must be within sight distance). If there is only one surrounding habitat type, leave the following two options blank.
3. Walk your entire survey area and then circle the estimated percentage of available flowering resources. See percent bloom examples in images to the right.
4. Scan the area for bunch grasses, rodent holes, rock piles, and the other items listed on the data sheet and check off all that you see. These are landscape features associated with bumble bee nests.
5. Do your best to assess the management activities occurring in or near the survey area. Take on a “What do you see right now?” approach. Can you tell if there was a fire recently? Is the ground coated in ash and free of leaf litter? Is there a pasture neighboring your survey area or presence of deer in your survey area? If you are near a large agriculture field you might suspect herbicide or insecticide applications have occurred recently or soon will. Again, these are general assessments attempting to gain a snapshot of the landscape features in or near your survey area. 

Step 3: Fill out Plant Species in Bloom

1. ​Flip the page over and start by circling the number of different plant species in bloom in your area.
2. Fill in the names of blooming plant species in your survey area to the best of your ability. You may write down the common name or the scientific name, but try to be as specific as possible. For example, if you can, submit “Tall Thistle” rather than “thistle” or “Red Clover” rather than just “clover.” This provides clear information as to which plant you observed in the field. 

​For help with identifying plants, try using the smartphone app iNaturalist, or take photos to identify later at home. Plant photos taken for later identification are for your own use.

HOme