Fwd: [DPLEX-L:41884] MONARCH WATCH ANNOUNCES BRING BACK THE MONARCHS CAMPAIGN
Neil Jones
neil at nwjones.demon.co.uk
Wed Oct 27 14:53:11 EDT 2010
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [DPLEX-L:41884] MONARCH WATCH ANNOUNCES BRING BACK THE
MONARCHS CAMPAIGN
Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:58:37 -0500
From: Chip Taylor <chip at ku.edu>
Reply-To: dplex-l at listproc.cc.ku.edu
To: dplex-l at listproc.cc.ku.edu
*News Release*
*
*MONARCH WATCH ANNOUNCES BRING BACK THE MONARCHS CAMPAIGN
"In real estate it's location, location, location and for monarchs and
other wildlife it's habitat, habitat, habitat", said Chip Taylor,
Director of Monarch Watch. Monarch Watch, started in 1992 as an outreach
program dedicated to engaging the public in studies of monarchs, is now
concentrating its efforts on monarch conservation. "We have a lot of
habitat in this country but we are losing it at a rapid pace.
Development is consuming 6,000 acres a day, a loss of 2.2 million acres
per year. Further, the overuse of herbicides along roadsides and
elsewhere is turning diverse areas that support monarchs, pollinators,
and other wildlife into grass-filled landscapes that support few
species. The adoption of genetically modified soybeans and corn have
further reduced monarch habitat. If these trends continue, monarchs are
certain to decline, threatening the very existence of their magnificent
migration", said Taylor.
To address these changes and restore habitats for monarchs, pollinators,
and other wildlife, Monarch Watch is initiating a nationwide landscape
restoration program called "Bring Back The Monarchs". The goals of this
program are to restore 19 milkweed species, used by monarch caterpillars
as food, to their native ranges throughout the United States and to
encourage the planting of nectar-producing native flowers that support
adult monarchs and other pollinators.
This program is an outgrowth of the Monarch Waystation Program started
by Monarch Watch in 2005. There are now over 4,000 certified Monarch
Waystations - mostly habitats created in home gardens, schoolyards,
parks, and commercial landscaping. "While these sites contribute to
monarch conservation, it is clear that to save the monarch migration we
need to do more," Taylor said. " We need to think on a bigger scale and
we need to think ahead, to anticipate how things are going to change as
a result of population growth, development, changes in agriculture, and
most of all, changes in the climate," said Taylor.
According to Taylor we need a comprehensive plan on how to manage the
fragmented edges and marginal areas created by development and
agriculture since it is these edges that support monarchs, many of our
pollinators, and the many forms of wildlife that are sustained by the
seeds, fruits, nuts, berries, and foliage that result from pollination.
"In effect," Taylor argues, "we need a new conservation ethic, one
dealing with edges and marginal areas that addresses the changes of the
recent past and anticipates those of the future."
For more information on this program, please visit the Bring Back the
Monarchs website --
http://BringBackTheMonarchs.org.
Please help us promote this program.
--
Monarch Watch
monarch at ku.edu
http://www.MonarchWatch.org/
Dplex-L: send message "info Dplex-L" to Listproc at ku.edu
1-888-TAGGING (toll-free!) -or- 1-785-864 4441
University of Kansas
1200 Sunnyside Avenue
Lawrence, KS 66045-7534
Create, Conserve and Protect Monarch Habitats
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