The Xerces Society Receives Funding to Restore Monarch Butterfly Habitat

Thu Aug 12 19:22:28 EDT 2010

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[image: milkweed]<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103613870084&s=0&e=001JeFymOuj4u18-0D-pUXF30UGfvbq87sceo5cSQ2DOm704V1Pj6tY2VApVhtxkgC-MyJYUBXC4g16rzq7AsMqQ8u2QwNApuaa8HJRNPA_hATi4L9ZnTSJEQ==>

*The Xerces Society Receives USDA Funding to Restore Monarch Butterfly
Habitat*

*
Project will increase the availability of less common milkweeds to benefit
monarch butterflies and other pollinators***

*August 12, 2010

Contact: Eric Mader, Assistant Director Pollinator Conservation Program:*

*503-232-6639*

PORTLAND, Ore. - The nonprofit Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
received funding today from the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) for a project that will improve habitat for monarch
butterflies. The project, supported by the NRCS Conservation Innovation
Grant Program, will work with native plant nurseries to increase the
abundance of milkweed plants (*Ascelpias* spp.), the food source for monarch
caterpillars.

This work is a outgrowth of the *North American Monarch Conservation Plan*,
published in 2008 by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, a treaty
organization between the United States, Canada, and Mexico established by
the North American Free Trade Agreement. The *Plan *summarizes the decline
of monarchs across their native range and details a plan for their
conservation. Specifically the *Plan* calls for groups to determine if,
when, and where milkweed is a limiting resource and to develop plans to
plant regionally appropriate species and guidelines for farm buffers for
nectar sources.

While several species of milkweed are common in parts of the United States,
not all are widely used by monarchs. In many cases, where there is a
scarcity of preferred milkweed species in the wild, there is also a lack of
commercially available seed. This is a limiting factor in habitat
restoration efforts for this iconic butterfly. This scarcity of caterpillar
food sources is of special concern in states like California, Texas,
Arizona, and Florida, where monarchs first arrive from overwintering sites
in Mexico and the California coast. Without suitable host plants for egg
laying in these regions, fewer second-generation butterflies are produced to
continue the northward journey and complete the species' annual migration.
Once a common feature of prairies and riparian areas, milkweeds are
increasingly rare. Intensified agriculture, the development of rural lands,
and the use of mowing and herbicides to control roadside vegetation have all
contributed to the decline of these plants.

In response to the decline of monarchs and the critical need for milkweed in
these regions, the NRCS has provided $117,000 to increase the seed
availability of key milkweed species. To conduct the project, the Xerces
Society is partnering with the Monarch Joint Venture (MJV), a coalition of
federal and state agencies, scientists, and nonprofit conservation
organizations.

Over the course of the next three years, the Xerces Society will work with
the NRCS and native seed producers to develop reliable sources of
regionally-appropriate native milkweed. The project will also develop
printed guidelines and an online directory that provides complete
information on using milkweed in habitat restoration projects, and
incorporate information on native milkweeds into educational training Xerces
conducts each year for land managers and conservation professionals.

"Milkweeds benefit a wide array of pollinators and provide another tool for
conserving farmland habitat," said Eric Mader, Assistant Director of the
Xerces Society's Pollinator Conservation Program. "This project will ensure
that monarchs have the critical habitat that they need to sustain healthy
populations."

For more information, please visit
http://www.xerces.org/california-monarchs/<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103613870084&s=0&e=001JeFymOuj4u18-0D-pUXF30UGfvbq87sceo5cSQ2DOm704V1Pj6tY2VApVhtxkgC-MyJYUBXC4g16rzq7AsMqQ_SlR4kQf13VKmFwK7lvAbUzNTh09Qur7C3rdLCio3KF2liJAkVoQNk=>

*ABOUT THE XERCES SOCIETY*

The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife
through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. Established in
1971, the Society is at the forefront of invertebrate protection worldwide,
harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the enthusiasm of citizens to
implement conservation programs. To learn more about our work or to donate
to the Society, please visit
www.xerces.org<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103613870084&s=0&e=001JeFymOuj4u18-0D-pUXF30UGfvbq87sceo5cSQ2DOm704V1Pj6tY2VApVhtxkgC-MyJYUBXC4g16rzq7AsMqQytP-ORSFPaLPaduNx1hjPk=>
.

*ABOUT THE MONARCH JOINT VENTURE*

The Monarch Joint
Venture<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103613870084&s=0&e=001JeFymOuj4u18-0D-pUXF30UGfvbq87sceo5cSQ2DOm704V1Pj6tY2VApVhtxkgC-MyJYUBXC4g1h7Ysu7XUX8inXfS5Shy2giM-gf-xYhaeLe76-cc3ZRNH7v-g1TsQ9>(MJV)
is a partnership of federal and state agencies, nongovernmental
organizations, and academic programs that are working together in a
coordinated effort to protect the monarch migration. MJV partners are
committed to a science-based approach to monarch conservation work, guided
by the North American Monarch Conservation
Plan<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103613870084&s=0&e=001JeFymOuj4u18-0D-pUXF30UGfvbq87sceo5cSQ2DOm704V1Pj6tY2VApVhtxkgC-MyJYUBXC4g0frOXZm4WU7_74Q5DsgPxau36BTaiHfFTCO1HbrlpySyn2jJfMj7HpOIhul8UeTUlMT8AcKUSDcQ==>
.

*PHOTO CREDIT*

The Xerces Society • 4828 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97215 USA •
tel 503.232.6639
info at xerces.org •
www.xerces.org<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103613870084&s=0&e=001JeFymOuj4u18-0D-pUXF30UGfvbq87sceo5cSQ2DOm704V1Pj6tY2VApVhtxkgC-MyJYUBXC4g16rzq7AsMqQytP-ORSFPaLPaduNx1hjPk=>

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