Local milkweed monitoring can take place in a wide variety of settings and provides valuable information about local existing habitat for conservation and protection. For example, Boulder County Parks and Open Space piloted a milkweed monitoring program in the growing season of 2016. Mission Milkweed is coordinated by staff but implemented by volunteers who go out to potential monarch habitat sites to record the presence or absence of milkweed plants. Volunteers estimate patch size, using smart phones to record GPS location, and a rough polygon size, in addition to recording other prominent plant species present at the site (Cimo 2016).

• Carrie Cimo. 2016. Boulder County Parks and Open Space, Plant Ecology Volunteer Coordinator. Personal communication.

Keywords: milkweed, model concept, survey