There are two species of the monarch butterfly, the Eastern and Western, separated by the Rocky Mountains.
The population west of the Rocky Mountains has experienced 95% decline over the past two decades (Center for Biological Diversity). The Eastern monarch butterfly population (found in Illinois) has declined by 80% since the 1980s.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been working for the past decade to get the monarch listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The loss and degradation of habitat along with insecticide exposure and the effects of climate change are contributing factors.
Planting native milkweed is critical as it is the sole food source for monarch caterpillars. Adult monarchs feed on flower nectar and therefore creating diverse pollinator gardens is also essential.
Unless urgent action is taken, the Monarch butterfly in North America has a high probability of extinction in the next 60 years.
Fortunately, local government officials are paying attention.
On Jan. 21, 2025, I attended a seminar on Monarch Conservation in Urban and Suburban Communities which was hosted by the Metropolitan’s Mayor Caucus. This invitation came from DeKalb’s Communication and Engagement Manager, Scott Zak, who works to support the Citizens’ Environmental Commission.
The Mayor’s Monarch pledge supports local governments to take action to conserve the monarchs and to engage residents. Approximately 32 municipalities in northeastern Illinois have taken the pledge. The Illinois Monarch Project has a goal to add 150 million stems of milkweed and provides municipalities with guidelines and recommendations to do their part.
The city of DeKalb is concerned as well. The seminar connected mayors, city managers, conservation ecologists and other informed activists from across the area to provide guidance on how we can help conserve the monarch population.
To conserve the monarch population there needs to be a whole community approach which includes concerned citizens, infrastructure partners and local government. Energy partners and transportation partners are joining.
More than 40 organizations from energy and transportation sectors worked to develop the Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances that encourages landowners and land managers to adopt measures to protect monarch butterflies. Monarch CCAA enrollment has committed 1.1 million acres for monarch habitat.
DeKalb has amazing, concerned citizens, university partners such as NIU’s Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability and Energy, Communiversity Gardens and community partners Rooted for Good and DeKalb Master Gardeners. Rooted for Good sells prairie plants such as butterfly weed and other plants that attract and nourish monarchs.
Local partners offer educational opportunities and workshops on how to plant diverse native gardens. The DeKalb Public Library is hosting Gardening 101 with Rooted for Good at 1 p.m. on March 17. Rooted for Good has multiple Asclepias (milkweed) seeding volunteer opportunities from 10 a.m. to noon on March 10, 11, 13, 17 and 18, at 33600 Pearl St., Kirkland. For more information visit Rooted for Good.
The DeKalb Public Library has a seed library for community members which is a valuable resource to promote sustainable efforts and food security. The Seed Library is available beginning in March and offers vegetable seed packets and is willing to accept milkweed seeds to add to the library to share with community members to plant to help monarchs. For more information on how to donate please email reference@dkpl.org.
DeKalb Master Gardeners share resources on native prairie plants, butterfly host plants and offer programs for planting to support butterfly populations.
Working together as a community we can all help conserve the monarch butterfly for future generations.
- Linda Srygler earned her B.S. and M.S. from the Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Illinois University and is a Laboratory Safety Specialist at NIU. Srygler is a member of the City of DeKalb’s Citizens' Environmental Commission.