Cities need nature but does nature need cities?

Background/Question/Methods

Monarch butterfly habitat—including milkweed host plants and nectar food sources—has declined drastically throughout most of the United States. Observed overwinter population levels have also exhibited a long-term downward trend that suggests a strong relationship between habitat loss and monarch population declines. Results from a U.S. Geological Survey led research effort indicate that we will need a conservation approach that includes all land types to stabilize monarch populations at levels necessary to adequately minimize extinction risk—and urban areas will likely play an important role.

Results/Conclusions

The Urban Monarch Conservation Design reflects a coordinated and strategic approach to help identify the best places and practices to put pollinator habitat on the ground at the local scale. A resulting product of this work is the Urban Monarch Conservation Guidebook planning tool (www.fieldmuseum.org/monarchs), which reflects an integrated social, ecological and geospatial approach to prioritizing monarch and pollinator conservation efforts in metropolitan areas. We will share results from our work in both large and small metropolitan areas where the project has been piloted, and discuss how the tools and products can be applied and scaled to other municipalities across the United States.