Media contact:
Kass Urban-Mead, Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Xerces Society, kass.urban-mead@xerces.org, (908) 883-6928
PORTLAND, Ore.; January 13, 2026 – Allen Family Philanthropies (AFP) has announced an $8 million investment in nine science-driven conservation projects to benefit species and protect ecosystems across the United States. This includes a 5-year grant for $696,492 to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation to conduct research on the conservation needs of native bees that live in Northeastern forests.
“This project will improve our understanding of how to protect the roughly 380 bee species that depend on the forests of the Northeastern U.S.,” said Kass Urban-Mead, a pollinator conservation specialist with the Xerces Society and lead investigator of the project. “Currently, most pollinator conservation focuses on open fields and meadows, but forests—covering 80% of the region—are home to two-thirds of the region’s bee species.”
The Xerces Society will gather one of the first comprehensive datasets on how bees interact with plants in forests. They will use special methods to sample the forest canopy and analyze pollen to see which plants bees prefer to forage on, including trees, which have been largely overlooked in past studies.
The project will also compare two strategies to increase the number and diversity of forest bees: (1) managing forests to increase tree diversity and creating more vertical structure, and (2) restoring flowering plants in the forest understory. The results of this work will be turned into practical guidelines, trainings, and workshops to help land managers and conservationists improve habitats for forest-dwelling bees.
The funded projects, selected in late 2025, comprise the third year of grants awarded under the Partnership to Advance Conservation Science and Practice (PACSP), a joint effort between AFP and the U.S. National Science Foundation designed to catalyze deep collaboration between researchers advancing basic science and on-the-ground conservation partners.
Each PACSP project addresses critical knowledge and data gaps that enable greater impact for understanding and protecting species and ecosystems. The projects funded in this third year of the program have far-reaching implications for biodiversity and conservation, policy and the economy.
“This unique partnership fosters valuable collaboration between academic institutions and conservation organizations to address pressing biodiversity challenges,” said Lara Littlefield, executive director of Allen Family Philanthropies. “The on-the-ground results of the program's previous grants show great promise as we connect rigorous scientific theory and research with frontline conservation applications.”
Established in 2023, PACSP is a partnership between AFP and the U.S. National Science Foundation that has now provided a total of $40 million for 25 projects across the nation. Previously funded projects from 2023 and 2024 also focused on diverse ecosystems and species, including ecosystem engineers like desert tortoises, key environments like the mid-Atlantic system of barrier islands, and phenomena affecting the entire nation like wildland fire and wildlife disease. Each PACSP project extends basic science into on-the-ground conservation to address critical knowledge and data gaps, enabling greater real-world impact for the United States. A Q&A with Dr. Yuta Masuda, director of science for Allen Family Philanthropies, is available with more information about the PACSP program.
View full 2025 project summaries and access media materials and photos.
###
About Allen Family Philanthropies
Founded in 1988 by Jody Allen and the late Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, Allen Family Philanthropies (formerly known as the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation) invests in communities across the Pacific Northwest and beyond to strengthen arts and culture, empower the next generation of changemakers, and support a global network of partners working to advance biodiversity and human well-being. Learn more at www.allenphilanthropies.org.
About the Xerces Society
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is a donor-supported nonprofit organization that protects our world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats. Xerces works throughout North America to conserve pollinators and other invertebrates, protect endangered species, and reduce pesticide use and impacts.