Pollen DNA Tracks Bees on Drained Klamath Land
Restoration planners are using BeeOtel boxes and pollen analysis to decide which plants native pollinators can rely on as dam-removal land is replanted.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Environmental
Restoration firm RES, working with the Yurok Tribe on the Lower Klamath Project, installed six BeeOtels across reservoir footprints drained in 2024 and partnered with Belgian company BeeOdiversity to monitor native pollinators. Each BeeOtel holds tubes for solitary, cavity-nesting bees, and pollen collected from the tubes is sent for DNA analysis. The approach is in active field use rather than a lab concept.
Why it matters
As the Klamath reservoirs drain and the land is replanted, the restoration's success depends on whether native bees can find food, and early pollen data is starting to show which plants and chemicals they actually encounter. Native bees relied heavily on invasive star thistle late last season, which pushed biologists to adjust the restoration plant palette so that pollinators are not left without food when the weed is removed.
The evidence is pollen DNA analysis from solitary bee nesting tubes and a plant diversity survey on a restored wetland. Plant diversity there rose 93 percent over three and a half years, and hive pollen data flagged an herbicide in bees at Lakeside Farms, but the sampling scale and pollinator baseline are not reported.
The players
RES
A restoration firm leading the Lower Klamath Project alongside the Yurok Tribe, with a focus on ecological rebuilding of drained reservoir land.
BeeOdiversity
A Belgian company whose BeeOtel pollinator-monitoring boxes and pollen DNA analysis are being used in the Klamath restoration.
Yurok Tribe
The Native American tribe partnering with RES on the Lower Klamath Project restoration along the Klamath River.
The details
The BeeOtels hold tubes sized for solitary, cavity-nesting bees, which are wooden boxes that give the insects a place to nest. A biologist checks the tubes through the field season and sends the collected pollen off for DNA analysis, which reveals which plant species the bees visited. Because the bees rely on the plants around them, the same pollen record also shows how the restored landscape is performing as food supply for the native community.
Timeline
The four Klamath dams were removed and reservoir footprints were drained in 2024.
Native bees relied heavily on star thistle late last season.
Plant diversity on the Lakeside Farms wetland rose 93 percent over three and a half years.
The Tech Race
The Klamath effort uses BeeOtel pollinator boxes and pollen DNA analysis to track native bee foraging on restored land after one of the largest dam removals in the region. It extends a monitoring method built around solitary cavity-nesting bees into large-scale watershed restoration.
Residents and anglers near the Klamath River may see restored wetlands and replanted shoreline as the drained reservoir land changes over time. Timelines for when restored habitat will support stable pollinator populations are not stated in the source.
The takeaway
Watch whether the next season's pollen DNA results show native bees shifting away from star thistle toward the restoration plantings. The herbicide flagged at Lakeside Farms is the detail to track in any follow-up monitoring.
Further reading
Explore more Environmental coverage for context on how restoration projects like this one are reshaping habitat across the region.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Active NorCal.
