The Monarch’s Best Hope Is Still You
Barbara Keller-Willy CPTMN, NPAT,HNPAT, Texas Monarch Gateway, SLGC
Last week, the federal government pledged $3.2 M to prevent further loss of Monarch butterflies. Of the $3.2M, $2M was immediately released for MILKWEED related projects, many in Texas. Project list: http://www.fws.gov/savethemonarch/projects.html
Managing agencies NFWS/NWF’s plan is to engage Americans along migration corridors to plant MILKWEED and nectar plants.
Here’s how you can help. Plant Milkweed, Preferably Native, But Any Will Do For Now Dara Satterfield, U of Georgia PHD candidate said: “Monarchs desperately need gardeners to keep planting milkweed. …Gardeners can provide seasonal milkweed by planting native species, cutting back exotic species to prevent winter breeding, and eventually replacing exotic species with native options as they become available at nurseries.”
http://www.monarchparasites.org/ Participate in a Citizen Science Project in Your Area
Monarch Larva Monitoring Project MLMP collects citizens’ long term data on larval monarch populations and their milkweed habitats.
Project Monarch Health will track OE related dated.
Texas Milkweed & Monarchs A TPWD Inaturalist project is designed to track location and distribution of milkweed in Texas.
Champion Public Monarch Gardens Free, pdf, how-to manuals exist to teach groups how to convert unused property into Monarch habitats.
Buy or Learn How to Grow Native Milkweed Watch for Texas Monarch Gateway’s native “3 Native Milkweed” fundraiser in May. HNPAT, CPTMN,NPSOT, and Fort Bend Master Gardeners will all have programs on native milkweed propagation this spring and summer to help you learn to grow native milkweeds.
Final Thoughts There are many unknowns in the study of causal relationships between Monarchs and the various milkweed species. While those studies continue, what we know for sure is that without enough milkweed along the spring and fall migration routes, the Monarch lifecycle cannot take place. Let’s choose to feed them and teach a neighbor to do the same.
http://monarchjointventure.org/images/uploads/documents/GardeningforMonarchs.pdf http://monarchjointventure.org/news-events/news/qa-about-research-related-to-tropical-milkweed-andmonarch-parasites http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/monarch-butterflies-loss-of-migration-more-disease-0115/
