Iowa launches plan to save threatened Monarch butterflies
Iowa took a large step Monday toward helping the recovery of monarch butterflies, with the introduction of a strategy designed to help keep the threatened insects off the national endangered species list.
The 135-page plan helps provide farmers, backyard gardeners and others with a road map for boosting monarch butterfly habitat in Iowa.
Nearly 40 agriculture, conservation, business, utility and government groups, calling themselves the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium, pulled together the strategy.
“It’s a big first step. Now we have a foundation to build on,” said Steve Bradbury, an Iowa State University entomologist and strategy team leader.
About $4 million has been invested in building research, adding demonstration habitat plots and other initiatives since 2014. The consortium hopes the group’s work will attract more, with $1.3 million in grants already being sought.
