Press release from Duke Energy

July 21, 2022

As part of its commitment to support the vitality of a healthy ecosystem, Duke Energy Florida has aligned efforts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), among other agencies, to protect a population of federally endangered wildflowers in central Florida.

Earlier this spring, Duke Energy environmental scientists joined various agencies and stakeholders to maximize the preservation and protection of the federally endangered clasping warea (Warea amplexifolia) and the federally threatened sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) found in an unincorporated community in Marion County, near Ocklawaha.

Read the rest of the press release at the Duke Energy website.

Napa Valley Register (Napa, CA)

July 19, 2022

Fox 7 Austin (Austin, TX)

July 17, 2022

Round Rock City Council has passed a resolution on becoming a pollinator-friendly community through the Bee City USA initiative.

Bee City USA provides community affiliates and campuses with a framework to conserve native pollinators by providing a heathy habitat that is rich in various native plants, provides nest sites and is pesticide-free.

Round Rock is joining several other Texas cities as a Bee City USA affiliate, including Austin, Buda, Beeville and Abilene.

Read the rest of this article at the Fox 7 Austin website.

Ventura County Star (Camarillo, CA)

July 14, 2022

Hundreds of Ventura County residents are converging on events to pick up free native milkweed plants that support monarch butterflies and provide an alternative to a recently banned nonnative milkweed harmful to monarchs.

Last month, county Agricultural Commissioner Ed Williams prohibited the sale of a tropical milkweed called Asclepias curassavica after the California Department of Food and Agriculture classified it as a B-rated noxious weed. That means the state considers the species detrimental and counties can ban its sale.

Read the rest of the article at the Ventura County Star website.

ABC News Channel 20 (Springfield, IL)

July 12, 2022

City Water, Light and Power’s Land & Water Resources Department has established a new pollinator garden.

The pollinator garden acts as one of the many Monarch waystations around Lake Springfield.

Planting milkweed is one of several ways to help pollinators as it provides monarchs with shelter, milkweed, and other pollinator plants to help their migration.

Read the rest of the article at the News Channel 20 website.

News Center Maine (Portland, ME)

July 6, 2022

Monarch butterflies may be the most familiar butterfly in North America. It’s hard to miss the black, orange, and white patterned wings fluttering from flower to flower. But spotting them is becoming less common.

The population of the monarch butterfly has declined in recent years.

The eastern monarch population dropped about 88 percent from 1996 to 2020, from an estimated 383 million to just under 45 million, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Read the rest of the article at newscentermaine.com.

The Republic (Columbus, IN)

June 27, 2022

Developers of a proposed solar energy farm in northeastern Bartholomew County are pledging to incorporate what would be the largest “pollinator garden” in the county, providing vital habitat for butterflies and bees that are essential for food and vegetation.

The proposed Swallowtail Solar Farm, which developers Arevon Energy Inc. and Tenaska want to build on agricultural land leased from owners in Clay and Flat Rock Townships, would generate 200 megawatts of clean renewable energy, enough to power more than 30,000 homes.

Read the rest of this article at The Republic website.

La Crosse Tribune (La Crosse, WI)

June 28, 2022

Tacoma News-Tribune

July 3, 2022

A new garden on the state Capitol campus in Olympia is attracting visitors by foot and by wing.

The Capitol Campus Pollinator Garden opened last week with colorful stands of golden yarrow, blue salvia, sweet-smelling alyssum and other flowers that winged critters find delectable.

Read more at the Tacoma News-Tribune website.

 

U.S. Department of the Interior

June 23, 2022

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Martha Williams and Senator Jeff Merkley joined science experts and policymakers at the first-ever Monarch Butterfly Summit in Washington, DC, on June 22-23, 2022. 

The two-day summit was organized to share the latest science and conservation actions being taken to address the long-term population decline of the western monarch butterfly, bringing together key stakeholders from across the science and policy communities to identify priority actions to conserve the western monarch butterfly. Leading experts provided the current state of the science, natural history, population status, habitats and barriers to conservation success. 

Read the rest of the press release here.