The 2017 America’s Grasslands Conference Proceedings are now available. Fairly technical in its approach to what’s new and what’s ongoing in grasslands research, I found Section 5. “Grasslands and Pollinators” the most relatable. (Pgs 53 – 58) Besides the typical updates on the status of pollinators and monarchs in particular, there is also an introduction to the Urban Monarch Conservation Guidebook.
Urban Monarch Conservation Guidebook
Developed by the Keller Science Action Center in partnership with USFWS and the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, the Guidebook is “intended to support the efforts of people like city planners and conservation practitioners who are interested in identifying the best places and methods to create people- and pollinator-friendly habitat in urban areas.” (Proceedings pg 55)
The Guidebook uses known information about the social landscape of monarchs to help cities set priorities and goals for monarch recovery. There are six sections that provide a variety of tools to help in developing new habitat or expanding existing habitat from residential backyard rain gardens to commercial and municipal multi-acre prairie restorations. There are also six Appendices relating to the studies conducted in Chicago, St Paul-Minneapolis, Kansas City and Austin.
See also the Field Museum’s webpage Urban Monarch Conservation. It provides many resources for information about Monarch butterflies and related links.
2019 America’s Grasslands Conference
The fifth biennial America’s Grasslands Conference will be held August 20-22, 2019 in Bismarck, ND. Mark your calendar!
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