NRCS photo by Gene Barickman
USDA is launching a new conservation effort to help agricultural producers provide food and habitat for monarch butterflies in the Midwest and southern Great Plains. This targeted 10-state effort by NRCS will invest $4 million in 2016 to help combat the iconic species’ decline.
Monarch butterflies are known for their annual migration from central Mexico to as far north as Canada. Their populations have declined significantly over the past two decades. NRCS’ effort contributes to a multi-agency, international strategy to increase the eastern population of monarchs to 225 million by 2020.