[Pollinator] NRCS, USFWS Partner to Accelerate Conservation on Agricultural Lands for the Monarch Butterfly

Fri Jan 13 14:52:09 PST 2017

Hi everyone:

Great news for monarch butterflies—the NRCS and USFWS announced today that
are teaming up to promote monarch conservation on working lands through the
heartland of the USA. Here’s the news release from the NRSC.

Matthew

******************************

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/newsroom/releases/?cid=NRCSEPRD1310271

News Release

*NRCS, USFWS Partner to Accelerate Conservation on Agricultural Lands for
the Monarch Butterfly*

Contact:

Justin Fritscher

(202) 720-5776

*Partnership Provides Technical Assistance, Funding and Predictability to
Participating Agricultural Producers*

The monarch butterfly is a new national priority species of Working Lands
for Wildlife (WLFW), a partnership between the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Populations of monarchs, a pollinator
species cherished across North America, have declined significantly during
the past two decades. This collaboration aims to help the species recover
by working with agricultural producers to make wildlife-friendly
improvements on their farms, ranches and forests.

“Producers can make simple and inexpensive tweaks on working lands that
provide monumental benefits to monarch butterflies and a variety of other
insects and wildlife,” said NRCS Chief Jason Weller. “By adding the monarch
to Working Lands for Wildlife, we can accelerate conservation for the
species at the heart of its migration corridor.”

NRCS and USFWS recently completed a conference report that explains how
conservation practices can help the eastern monarch population, a species
known for its remarkable annual, multi-generational migration between
central Mexico and the United States and Canada. This report is an initial
step toward adding the monarch to WLFW, which uses a science-based,
targeted approach to help a variety of at-risk species.

“We need to make every effort to help ensure monarchs don’t become
endangered now and in the long term,” said USFWS Midwest Regional Director
Tom Melius. “Conservation efforts on agricultural lands across the nation
can have a significant positive impact on monarchs as well as many other
pollinator insects and birds. Working with farmers and other private
landowners, we can ensure a future filled with monarchs.”

The monarch butterfly joins an array of wildlife species across the country
already part of WLFW, including the greater sage-grouse and New England
cottontail, two recent successes in species conservation. The USFWS
determined in 2015 that the two species didn’t warrant protections under
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) because of voluntary conservation efforts
underway to restore habitat.

Through WLFW, NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to help
producers adopt conservation practices that benefit the monarch. Meanwhile,
through the conference report, the USFWS provides producers with regulatory
predictability should the monarch become listed under the ESA.
Predictability provides landowners with peace of mind – no matter the legal
status of a species under ESA – that they can keep their working lands
working with NRCS conservation systems in place.

Work through WLFW centers on 10 states in the Midwest and southern Great
Plains that are considered the core of the monarch’s migration route and
breeding habitat. Much of this work will focus on planting and enhancing
stands of milkweed and other high-value nectar plants for monarchs.
Assistance is available to producers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin.

USFWS has committed significant funding – $20 million over five years – to
support monarch conservation efforts. Additionally, USFWS is working with
partners, including the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National
Wildlife Federation and the Mexican and Canadian governments to leverage
resources and investments to support and implement conservation actions
across the continent.

During the past two years, NRCS has made available $6 million through a
variety of Farm Bill conservation programs for monarch conservation in the
10 states. Additionally, NRCS is working with partners, including The
Xerces Society and General Mills, to increase staffing capacity to help
producers design customized conservation strategies for working lands.

The two agencies’ efforts contribute to a multi-agency, international
strategy to reverse the monarch’s population decline in North America,
estimated to have decreased from one billion butterflies in 1995 down to an
estimated 34 million. Through the National Strategy to Promote the Health
of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators, offsite link image     released by the
White House, the United States has a goal of increasing the eastern
population of monarchs back to 225 million by 2020.

Producers interested in NRCS assistance should contact their local USDA
service center to learn more. NRCS accepts landowner enrollment
applications on a continuous basis. NRCS offers more than three dozen
conservation practices that can provide benefits to monarchs as well as a
variety of other pollinators.

#

Download the Monarch Butterfly Conference Report:
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/PA_NRCSConsumption/download?cid=nrcseprd1310223&ext=pdf

See a map of Working Lands for Wildlife National Project Boundaries:
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MEDIA/nrcseprd1310220.png

Working Lands for Wildlife:
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/plantsanimals/fishwildlife/?cid=stelprdb1046975

USDA Service Centers:
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/contact/local/?cid=nrcsdev11_000242

NRCS conservation practices:
https://directives.sc.egov.usda.gov/OpenNonWebContent.aspx?content=37370.wba

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of
discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office
of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue,
S.W., Stop 9410, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call toll-free at (866)
632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (English
Federal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay).

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with others to conserve, protect
and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing
benefit of the American people. For more information, visit www.fws.gov, or
connect with us through any of these social media channels: Facebook,
Twitter, Flickr, YouTube.

----------

Matthew Shepherd

Communications Director

[image: Xerces-logo-CMYK-email_Outlook]

Protecting the Life That Sustains Us

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