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Monarch butterfly populations have been declining and there have been low levels in recent years, but one Iowa program is working to help the species in Iowa.

Agriculture specialist Seth Applegate with the Monarch Conservation Consortium says Iowa is an important part of the migratory path of the butterflies, as it is the summer breeding range for monarchs, “This is where the monarchs lay a lot of their eggs and do a lot of their reproducing.” The butterflies winter in Mexico and travel back north in the summer. He calls monarchs a “flagship conservation species” meaning if it is doing well and has enough environment, then other pollinators and wildlife species are doing well, too. Applegate says landowners can help boost the population by creating habitat, whether that’s introducing milkweed on patches of land that aren’t tillable, or not mowing areas around fields, or planting certain flowers in your backyard garden.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is hosting a pollinator and prairie management field day in Crawfordsville later this month. Applegate is one of the presenters and will be speaking about establishing and managing monarch habitat. The event will be March 29th from 5-7:30 p.m., to register contact field agronomist Meaghan Anderson 319-337-2145.