30 2017 Annual Report
N E B R A S K A P R E S E N T S P L A N F O R M O N A R C H
B U T T E R F L I E S A N D A T - R I S K P O L L I N A T O R S
Game and Parks led a Nebraska Monarch and Pollinator Initiative to
develop a conservation strategy for monarchs and at-risk pollinators in
Nebraska. The plan's purpose is to collaborate with stakeholders to support
populations of monarchs and other at-risk pollinators in Nebraska. The
nation's eastern population of the monarch butterfl y has declined as
much as 90 percent over the last few decades. The monarch's plight also
is bringing attention to other important pollinators, such as bumblebees.
Natural resource conservation professionals, government organizations,
non-government organizations, agricultural groups, businesses, and
educators formed the initiative because they realized the importance of
safeguarding pollination and avoiding a threatened or endangered listing
of the monarch in Nebraska. A key component of the plan is to encourage
growth of native milkweeds, which are required food for monarch
caterpillars. In addition, a list of native plants provided in the plan can
help land managers, homeowners, and gardeners decide what to plant
to attract pollinators. Game and Parks implemented 47,253 acres of early
successional habitat on public lands in 2017. Although the milkweed
production plots had poor success their fi rst year, many of these plots are
supporting a diversity of pollinator plants. Biologists report an abundance
of milkweed on public lands in many of the managed acres.
MONARCH
BUTTERFLY
ON
MILKWEED
PLANT.
LEAST
TERN
ON
NEST.
