Nebraska Audubon Gets Grant For Monarch Butterfly Conservation

Dec. 7, 2021, 4:59 p.m. ·

A close-up of a monarch butterfly on a pink milkweed plant with green leaves behind it.
A monarch butterfly on a milkweed plant. (Photo courtesy of Don Brockmeier, Nebraska Audubon)

Audubon Nebraska will be working with landowners on improving habits for the monarch butterfly along the Platte River in central Nebraska. The nonprofit organization was awarded a $175,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which will be used for this project. They will be working with several other state organizations such as the Game and Parks Commission to educate landowners about the best practices to combat the decline of monarchs.

The organizations will work with landowners to incorporate new ways or restoring their grasslands.

"In some cases this may be managing grasslands so they are more resilient and have a greater number of native plants, but also benefit the cattle that graze in that area," Kristal Stoner, executive director of Audubon Nebraska said.

Stoner says the process is very individualized and can range from educating landowners about how to properly utilize controlled burns, moving fences so cattle graze in different ways, or clearing out cedar trees that hinder pollination.

The contracts typically start out as a 10-year contract with landowners, however, most of the work is done during the first two years of the project. However, the work continues long into those ten years.

"Once you set these up to be managed in different ways, landowners very often continue to do these different projects and then they truly become ambassadors for what can be done," Stoner said.

Stoner says this is an important time to begin conservation efforts, as the monarch butterfly is not yet listed as an endangered species. However, it has been proposed for listing. She adds, homeowners with small gardens can do their part by planting milkweed in their gardens to create a habitat for monarchs.