Mayor Rawlings signs pledge to protect the Monarch butterfly in North Texas
Mayor Mike Rawlings and the City of Dallas are pledging to help conserve the endangered Monarch butterfly habitat by creating a migration highway throughout north Texas. The butterfly is one of the most recognizable pollinators in the world, but its numbers have declined by nearly 90 percent over the past 20 years.
The pledge commits the City to these initiatives to help the butterfly’s survival:
- Launch a public effort to plant Monarch gardens across the city
- Communicate with garden groups and citizens to urge them to plant native milkweed, the only plant where Monarchs will lay their eggs.
- Hold meetings with gardening leaders to discuss partnerships
- Support milkweed seed collection and planting effort
- Plant a Monarch-friendly garden at City Hall
- Create a Monarch neighborhood challenge
- Plant milkweed and nectar-producing plants in community gardens
- Allow for native prairie and plants
- Direct City staff to consider native milkweed and nectar plants at City properties
- Include Monarch conservation in long-range plans, including the City’s Sustainability Plan.
A number of factors have contributed to the decline in the Monarch butterfly population, including habitat loss from illegal logging during their winter migration, conversion of natural habitat to cropland, use of herbicides and pesticides, and drought.
