FARMERS AND RANCHERS CAN CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY

America's working farms and ranches offer a reservoir of untapped conservation potential for monarch butterflies and other pollinators. Landowners stand to benefit big time.

UNLEASH THE POTENTIAL

It's simply a matter of offering the right incentives for landowners to implement conservation activities that will have multiple benefits for their property.

Private landowners are essential allies, offering the greatest opportunity to bring solutions to scale.

A NEW FUNDING STREAM

Agricultural lands make up roughly half of the acreage required to recover the monarch butterfly. While many landowners may be interested in doing their part to help, the cost for restoring and maintaining monarch habitat can be prohibitive. The Exchange seeks to remove this barrier by creating a new funding stream for landowners and connecting them with technical support.

Landowners receive an assessment of the current and potential habitat available on their property, a management plan for restoring and enhancing monarch habitat, assistance with all aspects of implementing the project, and potential funding to compensate landowners for the time and materials invested in the project.

A MENU OF CONSERVATION SOLUTIONS

High-quality monarch habitat can be created in many places on agricultural lands, such as grazing pastures, fallow fields, hedgerows, marginal cropland, field margins and buffers -- even in yards and gardens.

There are a variety of activities that landowners can choose from to restore, enhance or conserve habitat for monarchs and create other co-benefits for their property. These activities include, but are not limited to:

MILKWEED PLANTING

In some areas, the only missing component for high quality habitat is the availability of milkweed, which can be restored to the landscape through planting plugs or including milkweed seeds in a diverse seed mix.

 

PRAIRIE RESTORATION

Prairie ecosystems comprised of deep-rooted grasses, diverse wildflowers and other non-woody plants can be restored to provide numerous benefits to pollinators and improve the overall health of a site.

PRESCRIBED BURNS

Prescribed burning is a highly cost-effective tool for limiting woody plant encroachment, suppressing non-native plants, and enhancing native herbaceous plant diversity. Prescribed burns also promote game species populations (such as quail and turkey), enhance forage for livestock, and improve the overall health of a site.

 

MOWING

In areas where prescribed burning is difficult to apply, such as in areas adjacent to a busy highway, mowing can be a suitable alternative. However, it is important to know the right times to mow. Otherwise, inappropriate timing can lead to high monarch mortality.

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