Maryland Natural Heritage Program
The Maryland Natural Heritage Program is creating “monarch and pollinator habitat on Maryland state lands—parks, wildlife management areas, natural resource management areas and forests” (Gibbs 2016). All state lands within the mountain and coastal monarch migratory flyway were visited and evaluated for their potential to enhance and create pollinator and monarch habitat. Over 50 sites […]
Mayors’ Monarch Pledge
Mayors and local government officials are responding to the drastic decline in the monarch population by taking the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. Starting in 2015, when mayors and other city leaders sign the pledge, they are making a commitment to restore habitat in their jurisdiction and encouraging their citizenry to do the […]
Milkweed Sampling for Monarch Pilot Project
“The lack of understanding of milkweed density among a wide array of land uses, both public and private, means that monarch recovery strategies are imprecise. In partnership with Monarch Joint Venture, USGS, and the Department of the Interior’s 21st Century Conservation Service Corps, a pilot effort was launched in summer 2015 to collect key information […]
Milkweed Seed Production Plots
The use of native seed in large- or small-scale restoration projects is imperative, as species develop varying traits based on the region where they originate, making them more appropriate for that geographic location. “In 2013, the Prairie Resource Center planted 2,621 acres [1,060 hectares] to native grasses and forbs, including four different species of milkweed […]
Milkweed Surveying Model Concept
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 […]
Milkweed to Monarchs Program
With 647 hectares (1,600 acres) of native habitat, and half a century of land management experience, the Cincinnati Nature Center’s Milkweed to Monarchs conservation initiative is poised for successful monarch habitat. Started in 2014, this conservation initiative focuses on educating the public about the decline of the monarch butterfly. Part of this education includes the […]
Milkweed to Monarchs: Abandoned Agricultural Area Restoration
In 2015, the Cincinnati Nature Center began a habitat restoration initiative that aimed to restore a 4-hectare (10-acre) abandoned agricultural field. Ohio, a state that was once covered with native grassland, has only less than 1% of the native grassland that used to blanket the state. By reverting abandoned agricultural land back to native grassland, […]
Milkweeds for Monarchs Citizen Science Study
“Milkweeds for Monarchs is a self-organized pilot project based in Flagstaff, Arizona, propelled by citizen science volunteers” (Hofstetter 2016). Northern Arizona University coordinates this volunteer effort. Its mission is “to use citizen volunteer gardeners to assess the suitability of a range of milkweeds for addition to home gardens and determine their utilization by monarch butterflies […]
Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
The Million Pollinator Garden is “a nationwide call to action to preserve and create gardens and landscapes that help revive the health of bees, butterflies, birds, bats and other pollinators across America” (National Pollinator Garden Network 2015). This program takes advantage of the burgeoning pollinator garden movement and pushes people to install native gardens in […]
Missourians for Monarchs
Initiated in 2015, the Missourians for Monarchs–Naturalists and Gardeners project brings together all state Master Naturalist and Master Gardener chapters as well as garden clubs. The program provides education presentations across the state of Missouri and also focuses on promoting habitat creation. The project sets yearly goals for acreage of habitat planted and is mapping […]
Model Concept: Kalamazoo Area Monarch Conservation
The Kalamazoo Area Monarch Conservation efforts are widespread, and include habitat restoration, citizen science monitoring and educational outreach events throughout Southwest Michigan. This local effort serves as an example of similar activities that could be replicated in other locations with volunteer support. The Kalamazoo Area Wild Ones and Monarch Watch Conservation Specialists provide presentations about […]
Model Concept: Monarch Biology & Conservation Meetings
Meetings that have the ability to convene a wide array of experts can be extremely useful to propel ideas forward, especially when the problems faced are time sensitive, as is the case with the monarch butterfly. A series of national meetings about monarch conservation has been hosted since the beginning of the decline in the […]
Model Concept: People for Pollinators
The People for Pollinators project asks places with public spaces in the community surrounding Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge to plant pollinator gardens, ranging from schools to businesses. The project provides educational materials, site planning help, maintenance expertise, and seeds or plants, all at no cost to the participant. Project participants are asked to contribute volunteers, […]
Model Concept: Roadside Monarch Habitat Conservation
Transportation ROWs and roadsides have been identified as crucial spots to restore habitat. State Departments of Transportation are becoming increasingly aware of the plight of pollinators and are taking action to protect pollinator roadside habitat. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is one of the nation’s leaders in pollinator roadside protection, even starting a statewide […]
Model Concept: School Greenhouse Program
Many local initiatives spread pollinator habitat to local schools and teach students about scientific investigation, using monarchs and pollinators as flagship species. For example, the School Greenhouse Program allows schools to sign up to grow pollinator-friendly plants to obtain seeds for school gardens or to support the People for Pollinators gardens. Neal Smith National Wildlife […]
Model Concept: State Biological Surveys
State agencies have invested in understanding the presence of pollinators such as bees and monarch butterflies through conducting biological surveys and research. An example of this kind of project is the Minnesota Bee Survey. Even when such projects are bee-focused, they provide benefits to monarchs by encouraging habitat restoration through better understanding of the habitat […]
Monarch Alert Tagging Project
“Project Monarch Alert is a citizen-based research project backed by graduate student researchers and faculty from Cal-Poly in San Luis Obispo. We focus on the demography and population fluctuations of western monarch butterflies, through sampling of overwintering populations in San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties […] Currently, our primary objectives are: Obtain robust estimates of […]
Monarch and Milkweed Habitat Restoration in Eastern Oklahoma
“Large scale restoration will be required to offset annual monarch breeding and migratory habitat losses. Restoration priorities, given that funds are limited, should involve regions that have a high probability of producing large numbers of monarchs. Eastern Oklahoma is such a region: a prime area for the production of first generation monarchs and a corridor […]
Monarch and Pollinator Conservation Initiative
The Sand County Foundation is using the charisma of the monarch butterfly to galvanize the private sector, specifically farmers and private ROW managers, to support the conservation of monarch butterflies and other pollinators by planting milkweed and native nectar plants in the monarch flyway. The Sand County Foundation’s “ongoing partnership development includes agricultural producers, both […]
Monarch as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need
Seventeen states (Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington and Virginia) have all added the monarch butterfly as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in their State Wildlife Action Plan revision in October of 2015. “The State Wildlife Action Plans are important tools for […]
Monarch Breeding Habitat Assessment Tool
This report introduces public- and private-lands BMP guidance for monarch butterfly breeding habitat, directed toward public and private landowners. The report is developed as an assessment tool indicating relative value of existing habitat attributes and management practices. Additional practices are recommended, and BMPs are presented in both a descriptive and prescriptive format. Recommendations are brief […]
Monarch Butterflies in the Pacific Northwest Tagging Project
This western monarch monitoring project raises monarchs and tags and releases them, with help from prison inmates. The monarchs are released in Northern Washington, and the goal is to track their migration patterns south to determine which overwintering sites western monarchs migrate to and how they reach them. People can report sightings of tagged monarchs […]
Monarch Butterfly Environmental Education (APFF Maderas del Carmen, APFF Ocampo and Conanp)
The communities of Boquillas del Carmen, Norias de Boquillas, Jaboncillos grandes, San Miguel and San Vicente participate in this program. There are talks to local members of the communities about the monarch butterfly. There is no specific budget for this program so the annual operating program funds of the protected area are used. Additionally, funds […]
Monarch Butterfly Environmental Education (Ciudad Acuña)
The Ecology Department of Ciudad Acuña is a branch of the municipal government of the City of Acuña. Ciudad Acuña is a border city in the state of Coahuila, bordering with the city of Del Rio, TX. The department has several programs that may benefit monarchs, such as its education and outreach program: Environmental Education […]
Monarch Butterfly Environmental Education, Monitoring, Conservation and Preservation of Natural Resources
Chipinque is a well-known park because migratory monarchs fly through the park every fall. Chipinque Park works on the development of gardens for pollinators and presents talks about the importance of pollinators. For example, in 2015 it created a garden for pollinators in a hospital after coordination with organizations such as Reciclart. Chipinque also coordinates […]
Monarch Butterfly Flyways
The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and a syndicate of public and private organizations, including the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, the National Fish and Wildlife Federation, and the Iowa Prairie Partner Program, have joined forces to enhance and create over 2,800 hectares (7,000 acres) of habitat along the monarch migration corridor. The […]
Monarch Butterfly Fund Forest Conservation/Reforestation Projects
The Monarch Butterfly Fund (MBF) forest conservation and restoration projects involve direct habitat restoration of the monarch overwintering sites in Mexico. MBF partners with Alternare and other partner organizations to work with local communities to plant thousands of trees within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve’s buffer zone. It also creates tree nurseries to grow the […]
Monarch Butterfly Fund Scientific Research & Monitoring Projects
“Recognizing that sound science is key to effective conservation, [MBF] supports scientific research, including habitat and species assessments, with direct relevance to conservation in the overwintering sites. [Its] research funding supports scientists studying ecology and the conservation of monarchs in México” (MBF 2014). Monarch Butterfly Fund (MBF). 2014. Scientific Research & Monitoring. http://monarchconservation.org/scientific-research-monitoring/.
Monarch Butterfly Fund Sustainable Development Projects
The Monarch Butterfly Fund (MBF) is working toward conserving monarch overwintering habitat in Mexico through its sustainable development projects, supporting the livelihood of local residents by encouraging other means of income than that from logging or timber-related sources. It encourages artisan- and tourism-related income streams, by funding the work of partner organization Alternare. It holds […]
Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange
“Since farmers and ranchers manage much of the habitat appropriate for milkweed, they are in a perfect position to restore and enhance this vital habitat, creating key corridors of breeding and nectaring habitats along the monarch butterfly’s great migration. By applying an advanced habitat quantification tool, the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange can accurately determine the […]
Monarch Butterfly Power Map
The Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders program consists of teams of wildlife professionals working together to conduct two-year wildlife conservation projects. The 2015–2016 class of professionals has a team dedicated to monarch butterfly conservation. For its project, it is creating a Monarch Butterfly Power Map for the central flyway. This map, through data collection using a […]
Monarch Citizen Science Training & Outreach
“The University of Minnesota Monarch Lab is spearheading a number of different citizen science workshops to recruit and inform potential volunteers about opportunities to get involved in monarch monitoring. Locations for these workshops were chosen based on analyses done by Karen Oberhauser and Leslie Ries. These analyses determined locations that were both important to monarchs […]
Monarch Conservation Information Clearinghouse
The MJV works to provide a one-stop source for monarch conservation information and resources related to its key objectives: education and outreach, research and monitoring, and habitat conservation. The information clearinghouse features downloadable resources, links to the MJV partnership and partner organizations, a compilation of necessary information for getting involved with creating monarch habitat, monarch […]
Monarch Conservation Science Partnership
“The Monarch Conservation Science Partnership [(MCSP)] is a USGS led group of scientists, managers, and conservation organizations who perform science related to the conservation of monarch butterflies. We come from federal agencies, non profits, and academia and from the three countries where monarchs range (Mexico, Canada, and the United States). To date meetings of the […]
Monarch Fueling Project
The Pollinator Partnership Monarch Fueling Project provides a monarch-specific planting guide for four regions in the eastern United States. This online tool allows landowners, managers or individuals interested in creating habitat in these regions to identify the best nectar and host plants (milkweeds) for monarchs, based on their location. The guidelines list what counties they […]
Monarch Habitat Recognition Programs
There are many existing programs that encourage habitat creation by recognizing participants who meet specific criteria. Some programs offer assistance or interpretive signage to participants. For example, the University of Minnesota Monarch Lab has developed a monarch habitat recognition program which includes categories for monarch gardens, agricultural habitats, restored or natural areas, and managed areas. […]
Monarch Habitat Restoration
“The Lower Colorado River Authority serves customers and communities throughout Texas by managing the lower Colorado River; generating and transmitting electric power; ensuring a clean, reliable water supply; and offering access to nature at more than 40 parks, recreation areas and river access sites along the Texas Colorado River, from the Hill Country to the […]
Monarch Highway
State departments of transportation (DOTs) have an opportunity “to restore pollinator habitat in roadside rights-of-ways. Their maintenance programs influence the management of millions of acres of [roadside] land[s]. […] Habitat restoration projects of federal, state, tribal, and local agencies can be ‘stitched together’ with habitat along roadsides and on the [ROWs] of utilities and other […]
Monarch Joint Venture, and Example Mowing for Monarchs
Monarch Joint Venture (MJV) is a partnership coordinating monarch migration conservation efforts across NGOs, state and federal agencies, and academic programs, in the contiguous United States. In addition to many efforts, the MJV website is an online resource hub providing the general public with up-to-date resources to implement BMPs in support of monarch habitat protection, […]
Monarch Larva Monitoring Project
The Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP) is a citizen science project that was developed by the University of Minnesota Monarch Lab in 1996. The goal of the project is to collect long-term spatial and temporal data on larval monarch populations to assess population dynamics, particularly variations in monarch populations in time and space, paying special […]
Monarch Monitoring Project (Cobea)
Conservadores de la Biodiversidad y Educadores Ambientales is a civil society organization created to promote priority species conservation projects and foster environmental education. Over the last two years, Cobea has included various monarch butterfly conservation actions among its monitoring projects, in southern Tamaulipas and northern Veracruz. These actions include training members and collaborators in the […]
Monarch Monitoring Project (WWF)
“Monarchs from eastern North America winter each year in masse at a number (12+) of mountain-top locations in central Mexico, beginning in November and typically lasting through March. During this time, the staff of the monarch program at WWF-Mexico conducts field surveys of the size of these colonies. By mapping the outer perimeter of the […]
Monarch Monitoring Training Assessment
“During the spring and fall migration, monarchs travel through Texas, which makes it an extremely important region to focus our efforts to increase awareness and monarch conservation activities. The University of Minnesota has assessed the impact that Texas monarch monitoring workshops have on participants and their engagement in monarch monitoring programs and conservation activities. The […]
Monarch Rescue
Since 2014, Monarch Rescue’s conservation project has created monarch habitat in a wide variety of locations ranging from retirement communities to superfund sites to college campuses. In addition to its on-the-ground habitat conservation work, it participates in Monarch Watch tagging, the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project and project Monarch Health. Its outreach and education work reaches […]
Monarch SOS
“Monarch SOS is a field guide to monarch butterfly identification in all life cycle stages, and includes many milkweed species (monarch’s larval host plants), frequently encountered in North America. This guide is great for anyone interested in learning about monarchs and milkweed. It is used as a companion app for citizen scientists participating in monarch […]
Monarch Watch Conservation Specialists
“Monarch Watch has recruited 14 volunteers to promote monarch conservation across the US. These volunteers serve as liaisons to engage local land managers, decision makers, and concerned citizens in monarch conservation efforts. All of them have been highly engaged in discussing monarch conservation issues via an active monarch listserv and are engaged in numerous educational […]
Monarch Watch Migration & Tagging Project
The purpose of the Monarch Watch tagging program “is to associate the location of capture with the point of recovery for each butterfly. The data from these recaptures are used to determine the pathways taken by migrating monarchs, the influence of weather on the migration, the survival rate of the monarchs, etc.” (Monarch Watch 2016). […]
Monarch Waystation Program
“Monarch Waystations are places that provide resources necessary for monarchs to produce successive generations and sustain their migration. Without milkweeds throughout their spring and summer breeding areas in North America, monarchs would not be able to produce the successive generations that culminate in the migration each fall. Similarly, without nectar from flowers these fall migratory […]
Monarch Waystations along TxDOT Rest Areas
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) operates numerous rest area and travel facilities along 21 major highways throughout the state. “In August 2015, TxDOT facilitated a cooperative agreement between the USFWS and the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) to allow for those entities to plan, establish, and maintain monarch gardens on TxDOT Safety Rest […]
Monarch Wings Across Ohio
Pollinator Partnership has been working in Ohio since 2010 to raise awareness about the plight of pollinators. In 2015, with support from the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation, Monarch Wings Across Ohio was born. Concentrated in Northeast Ohio, Monarch Wings Across Ohio is an innovative program that is researching the best methods for restoring monarch […]