Take the Pledge today to be part of the Super Generation to Save the Monarchs!
It takes 2 or 3 generations of monarch butterflies to migrate from the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico, to the prairies of Illinois in the spring months. By late summer, a ‘super generation’ emerges, equipped to travel an estimated 2,500 miles back to Mexico for overwintering. Unfortunately, over the past 20 years, the eastern monarch butterfly population has faced a significant decline in migratory habitat.
In 2014 the USFWS was petitioned to protect the monarch under the Endangered Species Act, and Illinois declared the monarch a species of greatest concern in 2015. The Illinois Monarch Project was formed in 2016 to establish a long-term action plan to enhance monarch butterfly reproduction and survival in Illinois. In collaboration with public and private partners, and individuals across the state, the Action Plan has been adopted and the implementation phase has begun.
Monarchs declared a candidate for Endangered Species listing
On December 15th the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its finding that “adding the monarch butterfly to the list of threatened and endangered species is warranted but precluded by work on higher-priority listing actions. With this decision, the monarch becomes a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and its status will be reviewed each year until it is no longer a candidate.”
In light of the warranted-but-precluded decision it’s imperative that the voluntary habitat restoration and monarch butterfly population enhancements here in Illinois and across the 15 other states at the heart of the eastern monarch butterfly migration flyway continue in earnest.
Call for Action
As an active partner in the creation of the Action Plan, Illinois Sierra Club is committed to support the state’s goal of adding 150 million new milkweed plants and other nectar resources to the Illinois landscape by 2038. But, we can only do this with your help.
Take the Pledge! From agreeing to share information on social media to planting a pollinator plot, or many choices in between, there is a way for everyone to contribute.
Take the Pledge today to be part of the Super Generation to Save the Monarchs!
Also, please email us if you’d like to join the Sierra Club Monarch Team. We’ll reply with more information on how you can get involved.
With your help, we can reach the state’s goal of adding 150 million new milkweed stems and other nectar resources to the Illinois landscape by 2038.
THE ILLINOIS MONARCH PROJECT
The Illinois Monarch Project (IMP) is a coalition of agencies (IDNR, IDOA, IDOT, IEPA), organizations, and individuals committed to helping monarch butterflies thrive throughout Illinois. The foundational tenets of the IMP include:
- Establishing a long-term action plan to enhance monarch butterfly reproduction and survival in Illinois.
- Engaging all hands on deck by partnering within the agriculture, rights-of-way, urban, and natural land sectors.
- Promoting and supporting voluntary conservation action by private landowners.
- Supporting regional, national, and international monarch butterfly conservation strategies.
ABOUT THE IMP ACTION PLAN
The IMP Action Plan identifies significant achievements made toward the goal since 2014. It also lays out current and future strategies and actions that can be undertaken to support Illinoisans in their efforts to add 150 million milkweed stems across Illinois landscapes by the year 2038.
The development of this IMP Action Plan was coordinated by the Technical Steering Committee, whose members also sought feedback and contributions from sector leaders as well as many other stakeholders and individuals. Illinois Chapter Monarch Team members who expressed interest were given a chance to review and comment.
The IMP intends all strategies and actions presented in this plan to guide the implementation and advancement of a voluntary, statewide conservation effort based on the best available science. Moreover, the action plan is intended as a living, working document, because the IMP recognizes that particular strategies and other elements of this plan may be altered and adjusted as state- and region-wide conservation efforts and monarch conservation plans evolve over time.
TIMELINE
2014: White House establishes Pollinator Health Task Force and the USFWS is petitioned to protect the monarch under the Endangered Species Act.
2015: Illinois declares the monarch a species of greatest concern; the Midwest Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA) begins a 20-year plan for monarch conservation in Illinois.
2016: Illinois Monarch Project hosts its first statewide summit.
2017: Illinois designates milkweed as the state wildflower; MAFWA sets a goal of adding 1.3 billion monarch stems across critical monarch habitat by 2038. Illinois’ share is 150 million!
2018: Illinois Departments of Natural Resources, Agriculture, Transportation and Environmental Protection agreement committing their support of the Illinois Monarch Project.
2019: Illinois designates the month of May as Monarch Month to be observed annually in honor of the state insect.
2020: The IMP technical steering committee, with help from stakeholders across the state, completes the Action Plan; Action Plan signed by agency directors.
Be part of the Super Generation to Save the Monarchs! It only takes a few minutes to Take the Pledge!