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Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium

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5 ways to help monarchs from the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium

You can help the monarch butterfly survive and thrive! Iowa’s location in the heart of the monarch's summer breeding range makes it possible for Iowa to lead the way in monarch conservation efforts. Consider adding monarch habitat to your property. Learn how to begin with our "Habitat How To" resource list. 

5 Ways to Help Monarchs

The Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium recommends five actions to help the monarch population recover from recent declines. 

  • Take advantage of the Farm Bill programs to establish monarch breeding habitat, and use the Iowa State Monarch Research team seed mix recommendations as a reference.
  • Establish a monarch waystation – with host plants for larvae and plants that are energy sources for adults.
  • Use habitat management practices to maintain existing habitat in odd areas, roadsides and other right-of-ways.
  • Follow federal pesticide labels and state regulations.
  • Get involved in your community to promote monarch conservation. 

Take a look below for additional ways to be involved in monarch conservation.

Proposed Monarch Listing Decision 

With the recent proposal for listing the monarch as a threatened species, now is a crucial time for public involvement. Learn more about how you can be involved in the listing decision making process.

Engage with Your Community

Already have monarch habitat on your landscape? Engaging with you community is a great next step. Look to see if your neighbors have pollinator gardens. Does your town or city have a community pollinator garden? Consider sharing native seeds or plants with your neighbors, helping those in you community get excited about monarch conservation and understand the importance of pollinators, or forming a pollinator conservation group to establish community monarch habitat. Below, you can find a few additional ideas to create a network of pollinator conservation in your community.

Volunteer

Another great way to get involved in your community is through volunteering. Throughout the state, there are volunteer opportunities to support native prairie conservation, monarch butterflies, and community science. Check out these Volunteer Opportunities to help monarchs and other pollinators.

Establish Habitat

Learn more about Iowa's habitat goals to support monarch population recovery in this summary of the Iowa Monarch Conservation Strategy. You can also view the full version of the strategy. 

Share these goals with your community/organization! You are welcome to print and distribute these resources. If you wish to start establishing monarch habitat now, the following are examples of some of the organizations that provide information on establishing monarch, pollinator or wildlife breeding habitat.

Agricultural Land

Gardens

School Programs