AUBURN, CA – Placer Resource Conservation District (Placer RCD) is one of six resource conservation districts awarded pollinator habitat plant kits by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation to help save the troubled western monarch butterfly.
The work to save the migratory western monarch is crucial. Early count numbers suggest that populations are heading for an all-time low. Xerces Society estimates there will be only a few thousand monarchs overwintering in California this year. This is a tiny fraction of the millions of monarchs that likely overwintered in the 1980s
“In the 80’s and 90’s, a short evening drive would cover your car in insects. Today, you may not have any insects on the windshield at all. It’s not just monarchs that are seeing drastic declines, it’s all pollinators,” said Andrew Justus Fritz, Outreach and Grant Specialist at Placer RCD. “We know that an important way to bolster the western monarch population is to increase overwintering sites and provide nectar resources by planting native milkweed along the migratory flyway.”
Fortunately, Placer RCD is busy doing just this. In partnership with the Xerces Society and the California Association of RCDs (CARCD), Placer RCD staff members worked directly with Hillview Farms, an organic farm located in Lincoln, CA, to build a 500-foot-long hedgerow with eighty-five native plants including milkweed, coyote brush, toyon, and others.
“RCDs partner with landowners, communities, organizations and government agencies to do get conservation work done on the ground,” said Sarah Jones, Executive Director at Placer RCD. “Hillview Farms volunteered their land and time to benefit the western monarch population, but also the health of their produce. Beneficial, native plants provide habitat for predatory insects that help manage pests.”
In total, eighty-five plants were planted including milkweed, coyote brush, buckwheat, toyon, and others, creating a 500-foot-long hedgerow.
“Xerces has been partnering with RCDs for years”, said Jessa Kay Cruz, Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist at Xerces Society. “It’s going to take all of us doing our part to save this species, and RCDs play a critical role in working with landowners to increase monarch habitat. We were very happy to be able to provide the kit and look forward to seeing the results in the spring.”