Audubon International partners with Monarch Joint Venture to boost monarch population

Audubon International is the newest partner of the Monarch Joint Venture, a collaborative established to prevent the decline of monarch butterflies. Audubon International offers a range of programs involving high-quality environmental education, such as the global Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program, and it has made great ecological stewardship gains in communities, neighborhoods and with businesses over the last 30 years.

“Managing properties for pollinators, like monarchs and other butterflies, is a great way to pull together best practices to protect water quality, diversify wildlife habitat, improve aesthetics of golf and more,” says Christine Kane, Audubon International’s executive director. “While you can’t promote everything on the same acre, we certainly can provide for multiple ecological services needed by communities by providing resources critical to monarch conservation.”

The organization’s programs strive to facilitate the sustainable management of land, water, wildlife and other natural resources. Audubon International achieves this by educating property managers, program administrators and others about best management practices. The Monarchs in the Rough program works to establish monarch habitat on golf courses across the country and beyond. Staff estimates that in the U.S. alone, there are 100,000 acres of available space to create this habitat. If these areas are improved to have 200 milkweed stems per acre, the program could offer 20 million milkweed stems toward the 1-1.5 billion goal.

“Golf courses and other lands that dot the landscape have incredible potential to not only create additional monarch and pollinator habitat, but draw attention from the public eye to this important conservation issue,” says Wendy Caldwell, coordinator of Monarch Joint Ventures.

Audubon International offers a variety of certification programs alongside habitat restoration efforts. For more information about these programs, visit Audubon International’s website.

Photo: Matt Ceplo