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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: black;">Having trouble viewing this
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103613870084&s=0&e=001JeFymOuj4u18-0D-pUXF30UGfvbq87sceo5cSQ2DOm704V1Pj6tY2VApVhtxkgC-MyJYUBXC4g16rzq7AsMqQ8u2QwNApuaa8HJRNPA_hATi4L9ZnTSJEQ==" target="_blank" shape="rect"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><img id="_x0000_i1025" src="http://www.xerces.org/imagesforcc/milkweedgrantbanner.jpg" alt="milkweed" width="600" border="0" height="240"></span></a></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: rgb(230, 120, 3);">The
Xerces Society Receives USDA Funding to Restore Monarch Butterfly Habitat</span></b></p>
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Project will increase the availability of less common milkweeds to
benefit monarch butterflies and other pollinators</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: rgb(230, 120, 3);"></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: black;">August 12, 2010<br>
<br>
Contact: Eric Mader, Assistant Director Pollinator Conservation Program:</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: black;">503-232-6639</span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: black;">PORTLAND, Ore. - The nonprofit Xerces Society for
Invertebrate Conservation received funding today from the USDA's Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for a project that will improve
habitat for monarch butterflies. The project, supported by the NRCS
Conservation Innovation Grant Program, will work with native plant
nurseries to increase the abundance of milkweed plants (<i>Ascelpias</i>
spp.), the food source for monarch caterpillars. <br>
<br>
This work is a outgrowth of the <i>North American Monarch Conservation
Plan</i>, published in 2008 by the Commission for Environmental
Cooperation, a treaty organization between the United States, Canada, and
Mexico established by the North American Free Trade Agreement. The <i>Plan
</i>summarizes the decline of monarchs across their native range and
details a plan for their conservation. Specifically the <i>Plan</i> calls
for groups to determine if, when, and where milkweed is a limiting
resource and to develop plans to plant regionally appropriate species and
guidelines for farm buffers for nectar sources. <br>
<br>
While several species of milkweed are common in parts of the United
States, not all are widely used by monarchs. In many cases, where there
is a scarcity of preferred milkweed species in the wild, there is also a
lack of commercially available seed. This is a limiting factor in habitat
restoration efforts for this iconic butterfly. This scarcity of
caterpillar food sources is of special concern in states like California,
Texas, Arizona, and Florida, where monarchs first arrive from
overwintering sites in Mexico and the California coast. Without suitable
host plants for egg laying in these regions, fewer second-generation
butterflies are produced to continue the northward journey and complete
the species' annual migration. Once a common feature of prairies and
riparian areas, milkweeds are increasingly rare. Intensified agriculture,
the development of rural lands, and the use of mowing and herbicides to
control roadside vegetation have all contributed to the decline of these
plants. <br>
<br>
In response to the decline of monarchs and the critical need for milkweed
in these regions, the NRCS has provided $117,000 to increase the seed
availability of key milkweed species. To conduct the project, the Xerces
Society is partnering with the Monarch Joint Venture (MJV), a coalition
of federal and state agencies, scientists, and nonprofit conservation
organizations. <br>
<br>
Over the course of the next three years, the Xerces Society will work
with the NRCS and native seed producers to develop reliable sources of
regionally-appropriate native milkweed. The project will also develop
printed guidelines and an online directory that provides complete
information on using milkweed in habitat restoration projects, and
incorporate information on native milkweeds into educational training
Xerces conducts each year for land managers and conservation
professionals. <br>
<br>
"Milkweeds benefit a wide array of pollinators and provide another
tool for conserving farmland habitat," said Eric Mader, Assistant
Director of the Xerces Society's Pollinator Conservation Program.
"This project will ensure that monarchs have the critical habitat
that they need to sustain healthy populations." <br>
<br>
For more information, please visit <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103613870084&s=0&e=001JeFymOuj4u18-0D-pUXF30UGfvbq87sceo5cSQ2DOm704V1Pj6tY2VApVhtxkgC-MyJYUBXC4g16rzq7AsMqQ_SlR4kQf13VKmFwK7lvAbUzNTh09Qur7C3rdLCio3KF2liJAkVoQNk=" target="_blank" shape="rect">http://www.xerces.org/california-monarchs/</a></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: rgb(230, 120, 3);">ABOUT THE XERCES SOCIETY</span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: black;">The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects
wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat.
Established in 1971, the Society is at the forefront of invertebrate
protection worldwide, harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the
enthusiasm of citizens to implement conservation programs. To learn more
about our work or to donate to the Society, please visit <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103613870084&s=0&e=001JeFymOuj4u18-0D-pUXF30UGfvbq87sceo5cSQ2DOm704V1Pj6tY2VApVhtxkgC-MyJYUBXC4g16rzq7AsMqQytP-ORSFPaLPaduNx1hjPk=" target="_blank" shape="rect"><span style="color: black;">www.xerces.org</span></a>.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: rgb(230, 120, 3);">ABOUT THE MONARCH JOINT VENTURE</span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: black;">The <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103613870084&s=0&e=001JeFymOuj4u18-0D-pUXF30UGfvbq87sceo5cSQ2DOm704V1Pj6tY2VApVhtxkgC-MyJYUBXC4g1h7Ysu7XUX8inXfS5Shy2giM-gf-xYhaeLe76-cc3ZRNH7v-g1TsQ9" target="_blank" shape="rect">Monarch Joint Venture</a> (MJV) is a
partnership of federal and state agencies, nongovernmental organizations,
and academic programs that are working together in a coordinated effort
to protect the monarch migration. MJV partners are committed to a
science-based approach to monarch conservation work, guided by the <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103613870084&s=0&e=001JeFymOuj4u18-0D-pUXF30UGfvbq87sceo5cSQ2DOm704V1Pj6tY2VApVhtxkgC-MyJYUBXC4g0frOXZm4WU7_74Q5DsgPxau36BTaiHfFTCO1HbrlpySyn2jJfMj7HpOIhul8UeTUlMT8AcKUSDcQ==" target="_blank" shape="rect">North American Monarch Conservation Plan</a>.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: rgb(230, 120, 3);">PHOTO CREDIT</span></b></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;">Milkweed (<i>Asclepias</i> spp.) © R.A. Howard @ USDA-NRCS
PLANTS Database</span><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: black;"></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The
Xerces Society • 4828 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97215 USA • tel
503.232.6639<br>
<a href="mailto:info@xerces.org" target="_blank" shape="rect"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">info@xerces.org</span></a> • <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103613870084&s=0&e=001JeFymOuj4u18-0D-pUXF30UGfvbq87sceo5cSQ2DOm704V1Pj6tY2VApVhtxkgC-MyJYUBXC4g16rzq7AsMqQytP-ORSFPaLPaduNx1hjPk=" target="_blank" shape="rect"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">www.xerces.org</span></a><br>
<br>
Copyright © 2010 The Xerces Society. All rights reserved.</span></p>
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