New Consortium Launched to Conserve Monarch Butterfly Habitat in Iowa

The iconic monarch butterfly has faced a variety of challenges for the past two decades and populations have declined to the point where it is now being considered for "threatened status" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

For more on the decline of monarch butterfly populations see previous Horticulture & Home Pest News articles.

Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium.  Enhancing the monarch butterfly’s habitat in rural and urban Iowa is the goal of a new, broad-based statewide effort.  The consortium is a public-private partnership to help Iowa agriculture and Iowa's communities make a difference in bringing back monarch butterfly numbers.

The Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium, established through the efforts of Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, will take a science-based approach to enhancing monarch butterfly reproduction and assist community-led implementation efforts.

The consortium will lead efforts in research and extension to develop cost-effective guidelines for expanding milkweed habitat and increase monarch reproduction in Iowa, one of the monarch's critical breeding ranges.

Initial partners in the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium include farmer and conservation organizations, state agencies, companies and Iowa State University.

The news release announcing the Consortium is online at www.news.iastate.edu.

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