Monarch Butterflies
Calls to Action
Buy & Consume Organic Products Sadly "organic" doesn't necessarily mean "chemical free" but it does reduce the chances of some of the most deadly chemicals being used on crops and even nursery plants. These chemicals hurting endangered species such as monarchs and other important pollinators.
Eat Plant-Based Foods Livestock and their feed use more land than any other industry. Beef alone causes 5 times more deforestation than any other industry, but the constant grazing of cattle, sheep, etc. significantly cuts down on wild flowers, even driving some to extinction.
Create a Monarch Waystation Make sure to avoid or remove invasive species, and to only plant or see local species, preferably a selection that monarchs and other pollinators specifically need.
Learn to use non-deadly pest-control solutions in the garden, or simply learn to live with non-invasive "pests" as they probably play some important roles in the eco-system despite some unfair hate people may have developed for them. For example: Slugs and snails are vital food sources for birds, so using poison will kill birds and their babies. Moles, prairie dogs, and ants are super important for aerating the soil, increasing the ability of water to permeate drought-struck soils, and even increase the nutrient content of soil with their droppings and nests.
If you have to mow in your Monarch/Pollinator garden then please consider making the adjustments recommended by Famers For Monarchs for pollinator-friendly mowing methods.
Use the right plants for your region to help monarchs. Milkweed is both food and a host plant for Monarch caterpillars, however Tropical milkweed isn't native to many places, and blooms past breeding season, increasing some serious health risks for the species.
Restoration Resources & Guides
Tools & Resources
North America
Pollinator Conservation Resource Center "Region-specific resources to aid in the planning, establishment, restoration, and maintenance of pollinator habitat.
Welcome to the Pollinator Conservation Resource Center! Here we offer region-specific collections of publications, native plant and seed suppliers, and other resources to aid in planning, establishing, restoring, and maintaining pollinator habitat—as well as materials to help you learn about the various invertebrates you might encounter.
To view resources relevant to where you live and work, start by selecting your region from the map or the list."Regional Milkweed Guides "are a series of regional guides to the native milkweeds of North America."
Enhancing and Restoring Monarch Butterfly Habitat in Texas This link has PDFs including an educational flier with a mag of the Texas monarch flight path, and an example site showing a rewilded plot of land and the types of plants used in recreating wildlife habitat for these pollinators.
MonarchNetLibrary "Welcome to the monarch library! Our goal is to include all peer-reviewed articles on monarch biology with links to sites that will give you the easiest direct access to each article."
Monarch Population Data Overview "Thousands of citizen scientists have been collecting monarch data for decades, as part of several different programs. Unfortunately, many of these data sets remain inaccessible to the public, scientists, and even the volunteers who have been laboring tirelessly to collect the data. Here, we offer an interactive tool to examine yearly trends from a number of monitoring programs, both continental and regional in scale, during different phases of the monarch’s migratory cycle."
Programs
The Million Pollinator Garden Challenge (MPGC) "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. We will move millions of individuals, kids and families outdoors and make a connection between pollinators and the healthy food people eat."
Monarch Habitat Certification Programs "Large-scale habitat restoration across all landscapes is needed to offset the loss of monarch breeding and migratory habitat to help the monarch population rebound. To help drive public awareness and continued promotion of monarch and pollinator habitat, we encourage all habitats to be registered through various certification programs." This link contains a selection of certification programs you can join.
MonarchNet Monotoring Programs List "These programs monitor butterflies in a variety of ways. Some monarch-centric programs involve watching for spring migrants, looking for eggs and caterpillars in the summer months, watching for roosting or migrating monarchs in the fall, capturing and tagging adults, and checking adults for parasites. Other programs collect opportunistic data, structured data via Pollard walks, or other protocols. Browse the program pages to learn more, to explore data and publications produced by these programs, or to find out how to get involved."
Organizations & Networks
North America
Farmers for Monarchs "There is a wealth of information out there to help you make your decisions, including several one-page documents created by Farmers for Monarchs outlining several topics for farmers interested in pollinator habitat and conservation. We have also created a shareable postcard about Farmers for Monarchs."
Master Gardener Monarch Nursery Network "Sheltering and raising Monarch butterflies has caught on in Franklin County this year. An informal network has sprung up and wound its way out into the community."
MonarchNet "The North American network of monarch butterfly monitoring programs"
Canada
Pollinator Partnership Canada " is a registered charity dedicated to the protection and promotion of pollinators and their ecosystems through conservation, education, and research."
USA
National Wildlife Federation: Urban Monarch Conservation "provides hands-on outreach, planning and technical support to select major cities in the Central Monarch Flyway to create city-specific monarch conservation plans. In each city, the National Wildlife Federation helps bring together numerous partners to build local monarch networks that collaborate on projects and initiatives throughout the community. These networks ensure that knowledge and resources are shared among partners for the benefit of monarch conservation. By collaborating and sharing resources, actions taken by the networks will be more efficient and effective at uniting communities to save the monarch butterfly."
North America
Pollinator Conservation Resource Center (Interactive) "Region-specific resources to aid in the planning, establishment, restoration, and maintenance of pollinator habitat.
Welcome to the Pollinator Conservation Resource Center! Here we offer region-specific collections of publications, native plant and seed suppliers, and other resources to aid in planning, establishing, restoring, and maintaining pollinator habitat—as well as materials to help you learn about the various invertebrates you might encounter.
To view resources relevant to where you live and work, start by selecting your region from the map or the list."
Grants & Funding
North America
USA
Texas
Monarch Garden Grants "The Native Plant Society of Texas awards small grants to nature centers, schools, educational groups and others to help fund development of Monarch demonstration gardens or Monarch Waystations using native plants on public sites in Texas. The purpose of this program is to educate members, applicants, and the public about Monarch conservation and native plants, and to encourage restoration of Monarch habitats throughout the Texas migration flyway."