Federal Funding and American Burying Beetles

UPLC held its annual meeting at the Ore Dock on May 28, 2025. Two new board members delivered the main presentation.

Kacey Cook talked about the current disruption to federal funding. She noted that UPLC has been impacted as awarded grant money is now on hold. UPLC was part of a multi-agency regional project to protect cold-water lakes and fish species. An America the Beautiful Challenge Grant through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation earmarked approximately $75,000 for UPLC to prepare conservation easements on participating private properties on inland lakes. This grant was paused in March. Another grant, through USDA Forest Service, would give UPLC about $60,000 to develop partnerships among land conservancies, foresters, and landowners. The future of this grant is uncertain.

Carmen Greenwood talked about her work with the American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus). This federally threatened large beetle, extirpated in its historical northern range, feeds and on rears its young in buried corpses of small animals such as birds and chipmunks. Its activity aerates and fertilizes the soil, prevents the spread of diseases, and cuts down on pest fly species. The beetle requires stable spring snowpack so it can overwinter and locate host corpses before they are infested with fly eggs. Such habitat is increasingly rare.

American burying beetle. Credit: USFWS

Greenwood has been working with a land conservancy in Otsego County, NY to identify possible American burying beetle reintroduction sites in the Great Lakes region. This work has been funded by a five-year grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Reintroduction will require another five-year grant. Federal funding is now in question.

Northern Michigan may also offer viable reintroduction sites. When federal environmental protection funding is restored, Michigan land conservancies such as UPLC may be able to host efforts to restore viable populations of American burying beetles.