[Pollinator] Media Release-Pollinator Week 2014 Mobilizes Monarch Migration Supporters

Thu Jun 19 15:35:26 PDT 2014

P2.jpgMEDIA RELEASE    

  June 20, 2014

  For Immediate Release

Tom Van Arsdall  TVA at pollinator.org 703.509.4746

Laurie Davies Adams LDA at pollinator.org 415.362.1137

Pollinator Week 2014 Mobilizes Monarch Migration Supporters

The monarch migration will be getting a boost as partners new and old work
to link fragmented flyways with milkweeds and nectar plants. Monarchs have
made headlines recently, but the news hasn't been good.  Their once dramatic
migration has diminished, and their overwintering numbers are at an all-time
low. The solution to bringing back the monarch migration is connecting food
gaps that have resulted from increased urban and rural growth and excessive
use of herbicides in agricultural areas. 

New this year is special recognition of the role that business can play in
helping preserve monarchs. The Monarch Sustainer of the Year Award,
cosponsored by the U.S. Business Council on Sustainable Development (US
BCSD) and the Pollinator Partnership, recognizes unique efforts by business
in supporting the long- term viability of monarch butterflies. To find out
more about the award go to www.pollinator.org.   The award is sponsored by
the Monarch Joint Venture <http://www.monarchjointventure.org/>  (MJV),  a
public-private partnership that works to support monarchs in a highly
strategic approach across the continent.

Helping monarchs unites North America. The Trilateral Committee for Wildlife
and Ecosystem Conservation, representing government and NGO interests in
conservation from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, renewed its
commitment to the North American Monarch Conservation Plan this May. Each
country has made protecting monarchs a priority. In Mexico the preservation
of overwintering habitats and preventing illegal logging in the Oyamel
Forests are top priorities. Monarchs travel through the United States and
Canada throughout the spring and summer, and this is when they need food and
connected landscapes. Leaders in the United States and Canada have
prioritized increasing the presence of milkweed and filling gaps in nectar
plants.

Pollinator Partnership (P2) and its partner organizations that specialize in
monarch support are offering a list of actions that citizens can take during
Pollinator Week and throughout the year to support the monarch migration.
Helping monarchs is as simple as planting the right milkweed and nectar
plants at the right time of year. Visit www.pollinator.org to find specific
monarch information. 

Looking at a map of the monarch migration, citizens can see how many of the
paths they take follow the same roadways and rights-of-way built to connect
people. Managing the habitat along roadsides and rights-of-way is another
key way that public and private organizations can help boost monarch
numbers. Highway right-of-ways (ROWs) managed by State Departments of
Transportation (State DOTs) represent about 17 million acres of opportunity
where significant economic and conservation/environmental benefits can be
achieved for monarchs through vegetation management. With the Highways BEE
(Bettering the Economy and Environment) Pollinator Protection Act
<http://pollinator.org/BEEAct.htm>  Congress and individual states can
mobilize vast habitat resources to help monarchs in their migration. 

Corporations also have a unique opportunity to help monarchs throughout
North America by managing their landscapes and land holdings to provide the
right food for caterpillars and adults.  P2 has worked with the Monarch
Joint Venture <http://monarchjointventure.org/>  and partners to develop
specialized planting guides that fit into the land management plans of
utilities and corporations. 

Shortly after Pollinator Week the annual July 1st (Canada) and July 4th
(USA) butterfly counts take place.  Citizens can come out and spot monarchs
and support citizen science.  Great resources are out there for anyone -
gardeners, farmers, local groups and governments, and corporations - to help
create and support more acres for monarch. Citizens can visit
www.pollinator.org about how to help.

Pollinator Week has grown exponentially in scope each year with this year
June 16-22 being designated by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack,
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and 45 governors as a week to
celebrate and protect the nation's pollinating animals (A complete list is
available at http://pollinator.org/npw_events.htm).  Pollinators, like bees,
butterflies, birds and other animals, bring one in every three bites of food
and protect our environment. They form the underpinnings of a healthy and
sustainable future.    

Efforts during Pollinator Week, and indeed year-round, are working to
reverse and prevent pollinator declines caused by loss of habitat, disease,
pesticides, parasites and other interconnected assaults on pollinator
populations. "We are thrilled to see the enthusiastic reception the Monarch
Sustainer of the Year Award is receiving," said Laurie Davies Adams, P2
Executive Director. "We hope that all the companies in the US make an effort
to help monarchs through their landscapes, their employees, their
communities and their customers - who knows, which company might be the
first recipient of the USBCSD-P2  Monarch Sustainer of the Year!"  

ABOUT THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The US BCSD is a non-profit business association that provides opportunities
for its members to work on authentic sustainability projects with industry,
governmental and other key stakeholders who might not otherwise have the
chance to collaborate and network http://usbcsd.org.  

ABOUT THE POLLINATOR PARTNERSHIP (P2) 

Established in 1997, the Pollinator Partnership is the largest 501(c) 3
non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to the health, protection, and
conservation of all pollinating animals. Pollinator Partnership's actions
for pollinators include education, conservation, restoration, policy, and
research.  P2's financial support comes through grants, gifts, memberships
and donations from any interested party.  Its policies are science-based,
set by its board of directors, and never influenced by any donor.  To make a
donation or for information on events during Pollinator Week, visit
www.pollinator.org.

R. Thomas (Tom) Van Arsdall, Director of Public Affairs

   Pollinator Partnership <http://www.pollinator.org/> 

   Cell:  (703) 509-4746

   tva at pollinator.org

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