Of Monarchs and Milkweed: Idahoans pull together for beloved pollinator

For many a schoolkid and daydreaming adult, the sight of a monarch butterfly floating above the green grass of a lush meadow is nature’s embodiment of a lazy summer day. With its regal coloration and impressive migrations, the “queen of the pollinators” evokes wonder and delight—not just in North America, but worldwide. Here in Idaho, we’re especially proud of monarchs. In 1993, we adopted them as the official state insect. Each fall, our western-migrating monarchs travel to southern coastal climates in California or rendezvous with the eastern population in high-elevation fir forests of Mexico. The journey north is no joke—the butterflies use a multiple generation relay race strategy to accomplish it, ensuring that short-lived spring populations have the stamina, over three life cycles, to reach critical northern habitats. For a successful northerly migration, our monarchs are completely reliant on milkweed. Named for the white latex-type fluid that drips from its broken leaves and stems, milkweed is often located in riparian areas. While at least five species of native milkweed exist in Idaho, the most common is the Showy variety, which ranges across every corner of the state. The plant provides 100% of the diet for monarchs at the caterpillar stage, while also providing habitat for mating and depositing eggs. Just as greater Sage-grouse can only persist within healthy sagebrush habitats, monarch butterflies are inextricably linked to robust colonies of milkweed. Dana Kobilinsky, of The Wildlife Society, likened a monarch migration without abundant milkweed to “traveling along a highway without any gas stations or rest stops.” In even clearer terms: when we lose milkweed, we lose monarchs.Unfortunately, we’ve seen huge declines in monarch populations in recent years. According to the Xerces Society, more than 95% of western monarch butterflies have disappeared since monitoring began in the 1980s and 1990s. Populations west of the Rockies are now estimated at less than 5,000 individuals. These troubling findings are connected to more than just monarchs—since the species plays an essential role in the health and biodiversity of many wildflower species, we’ve also seen corresponding declines of many other pollinators like bees, moths and bats.The primary causes of the decline in monarchs include loss of overwintering habitat, climate change, drought, urban development, and—most importantly—a 70% loss of milkweed, nationwide, mostly a result of widespread herbicide application. Due to these alarming population declines, monarchs have been designated by Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Last December, they were also listed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) as a candidate species for protections under the Endangered Species Act.Now, efforts to understand the health of Idaho’s monarchs are ramping up and being embraced by researchers, citizen scientists and even high school students.According to Idaho’s Office of Species Conservation, Idaho participates in the Western Monarch Butterfly Conservation Plan, which includes goals and strategies for habitat conservation in overwintering and breeding habitats, research, population monitoring, and education. Beginning in 2016, IDFG initiated efforts to document the presence of milkweed across Idaho, mapping nearly 3,000 patches across the state. Follow-up efforts four years later showed that number had dropped by 50%. As one can expect, surveyors also saw very few monarchs.Even more recently, IDFG launched the Statewide Milkweed & Monarch Survey to harness the passion and dedication of Idaho’s volunteer community. With extremely limited funding for nongame species, the agency is deploying citizen scientists over the next two years to survey 1,000 documented milkweed patches statewide and assess their size, persistence over time, and use by monarchs. Among the committed pool of eager conservationists are members of the Idaho Master Naturalist Program, like McCall’s Linda Corder. Linda is midway through her 80 hours of education and volunteer service, key requirements of the IDFG-led program. She’ll visit her “adopted” milkweed patch south of Council several times from July 1 to August 15, to count milkweed stems, record patch vigor, and document any life stages of monarchs she observes.Another monarch monitoring effort is being spearheaded by students in Mr. Erik Quissell’s science class at Boise High School. Working under a City of Boise grant through the Youth Climate Fund program, Senior Zoe Sims and her team of student-volunteers are conducting a monarch “watch” this summer. She’ll organize actions for up to a dozen students that cover 15 miles of the Boise Greenbelt in two-mile sections. The groups will document milkweed, eggs, and caterpillars on both sides of the Boise River and submit the data to iNaturalist. Zoe credits Mr. Quissell as being particularly influential in her newfound enthusiasm for monarchs, saying “I had a basic knowledge of butterflies, but I also learned a lot through my teacher and Boise’s monitoring program.”Thanks to statewide efforts from seasoned wildlife professionals as well as volunteer monarch champions, we’re learning more about the need for urgent action to conserve this “flagship” pollinator species. As Zoe profoundly said, “it’s really sad that there aren’t more monarchs…they’re our state insect, why isn’t there more attention on them?”IDFG is still seeking volunteers for their summer milkweed survey project. You can find more information and contact project leaders at Statewide Milkweed & Monarch Survey.