**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** IN THIS PROJECT WE WILL DETERMINE HOW NORTHEASTERN FORESTS CAN BE MANAGED TO SUPPORT SPRING FRUIT CROP POLLINATORS AND OTHER NATIVE BEE SPECIES THAT RELY ON FOREST HABITAT. SPRING-BLOOMING FRUITS SUCH AS APPLE, CHERRY, AND BLUEBERRY, WHICH ARE WORTH $862 MILLION ANNUALLY, ARE OFTEN POLLINATION-LIMITED. NATIVE BEE SPECIES, WHICH ARE ADAPTED TO THE COOL AND WET WEATHER CONDITIONS OF THE NORTHEASTERN SPRING, ACCOUNT FOR ROUGHLY HALF OF SPRING FRUIT POLLINATION (A SINGLE MANGED SPECIES, THE HONEY BEE, DOES THE OTHER HALF). MOST SPRING-FLYING BEE SPECIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH DECIDUOUS FOREST HABITAT, WHICH LIKEWISE BLOOMS IN EARLY SPRING. HOWEVER, THESE SPRING-FLYING SPECIES ARE EXCLUDED FROM CURRENT POLLINATOR RESTORATION PRACTICES, WHICH FOCUS ON SUMMER-BLOOMING PLANT SPECIES AND OPEN, MEADOW-TYPE HABITATS. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO DEVELOP EVIDENCE-BASED GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING FORESTS FOR BEE POLLINATORS. WE WILL ASSESS HOW BEES ARE IMPACTED BY TIMBER HARVEST PRACTICES, AND DETERMINE HOW BEE COMMUNITIES CHANGE AS HARVESTED FORESTS REGENERATE. TO DETERMINE WHICH FOREST PLANT SPECIES ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT FOOD RESOURCES FOR BEES, WE WILL IDENTIFY POLLENS COLLECTED FROM FEMALE BEES' SCOPAE. LASTLY, WE WILL DEVELOP MOLECULAR BAR-CODING TOOLS TO FACILITATE THE IDENTIFICATION AND MONITORING OF SPRING CROP POLLINATORS IN THE GENUS ANDRENA, WHICH CONTAINS MANY DIFFICULT-TO-IDENTIFY SPECIES.