Iowa State University
IN-24: Innovation A

Iowa State University is providing leadership in an ongoing, collaborative conservation effort to help ensure monarch butterfly populations in Iowa and the Midwest continue to grow and recover from past declines. The Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium was established in 2015 through the efforts of Iowa State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Its mission is to enhance monarch reproduction and survival in Iowa through collaborative and coordinated efforts of farmers, private citizens and their organizations. The consortium’s 25 members include agricultural organizations, conservation organizations, agriculture technology providers, energy industry, universities and state and federal agencies. It also partners with national conservation groups such as Monarch Watch, Pheasants Forever and Sand County Foundation. With Iowa State’s expertise, the partners are developing a science-based, farmer-led approach that fosters habitat improvements in rural landscapes that do not conflict with agricultural production, are sufficient in scale to support improved monarch breeding success and complement existing conservation programs. This year, Iowa State researchers continue to work with farmers and livestock producers to incorporate monarch habitat into a variety of Iowa landscapes through the support of consortium members and grants provided by USDA, the Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association. They are refining methods for establishing and maintaining habitat, determining the benefits of different habitat patch sizes and continuing their evaluation of milkweed species and companion plants.