March 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 59

plants grown in nurseries may be toxic to monarchs if the plants have been
treated with these insecticides, " Oberhauser says.
Loss of habitat and loss of host plants
are not the only threats monarchs face.
Illegal logging in the wintering grounds
of monarchs in Mexico has reduced
overwintering habitat. Extreme weather
events, such as storms, floods and especially recent historic droughts faced by
California, Texas, and other Western
and Southwestern states, are seriously
degrading monarch survival. " The resource base for monarchs has really hit
bottom, " says John Pleasants, a professor in the Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology department at Iowa
State University. " The habitat in agricultural fields is just gone. In the past
couple of years, extreme weather events
have depressed numbers even more.
Previously, even if conditions in Texas
were bad, monarchs could recover in
the Midwest. Now, every new trouble
- drought, fire, storms - is just another blow. "
What Can Parks Do?
Perhaps one of the few bright spots in
this otherwise grim litany about the
causes of the rapid decline of the monarch is that parks may be able to do a
lot to help save this much-loved species
from disappearing from our landscape.
Many experts point to the monarch
butterfly's continued existence as critical to the welfare of our planet, food
supply and overall biodiversity of both
plants and other insects. Near or total
decimation of the monarch butterfly
- not to mention the several species of
bees that are also crucial for the pollination of food crops - would start a devastating domino effect whereby myriad
plants and other insects that depend on
each other for food, shelter and beneficial chemicals might also disappear.
The challenge is huge and the stakes
are high, but park and recreation agen-

cies, aided by support from volunteers
and the public at large, are in a unique
position to make a dramatic impact on
the monarch's fight for survival.
What can parks do? Plenty, according to monarch experts from around
the country. " I am big on giving reasons for hope, " says Oberhauser. The
greatest challenge to restore the monarch is to address the loss of habitat
that has crushed this species. Chip Taylor, professor at the University of Kansas and director of Monarch Watch,
says, " We have lost fully 30 percent
of the breeding habitat of monarchs
since 1996 - [more than] 100 million
acres. " Knowledgeable observers agree
that this is a stunning statistic. Most
of the loss of habitat has come from
the introduction of herbicide-resistant
plants and the resulting loss of milkweed within cropland, but a large percentage has come from the conversion
of traditional conservation lands and
" waste " places, like field edges, roadsides, drain ditches and other areas that
may not mean much to farmers and
landowners, but which might be ideal
habitat where milkweed can thrive.

The answer, according to Taylor, is
to create more habitat for monarchs.
" We have to plant milkweed and other
beneficial plants. " He says Monarch
Watch has created an efficient and
scalable method of producing native
seed and plants, and he feels they
will be able to meet demand for both
spring and fall planting seasons. Oberhauser agrees and believes park and
recreation agencies can be pivotal in
increasing prime habitat for monarchs.
" The habitat lost in agricultural lands
due to herbicides and other reasons is
not coming back, " she says. " We need
to concentrate on other available habitat. When you look at all the reasons
for the decline of monarchs, the first
and most important reason is habitat. "
One way to create more habitat for
monarchs is to establish Monarch
Waystations, which are designated
habitat areas managed for monarchs.
They can be of any size and in any
location, but there are criteria for establishing and maintaining them (see
the Monarch Waystation program at
www.monarchwatch.org). Joyce Carroll of Iowa City Parks and Recre-

Rangers and kids join forces to tag monarchs in North Carolina's Falls Lake State Recreation Area. N.C. State Parks is celebrating the Year of the Lepidoptera in 2014 and has
planned a number of butterfly and moth events throughout the year.

W W W. N R PA . O R G | M A R C H 2 0 1 4 |

Parks & Recreation

March 2014 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2014 - Parks & Recreation