The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) gave the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Pathfinders RC&D a grant totaling $227,400 to establish monarch habitat in their state. Privately owned land totaling 3,311 acres in Iowa will utilized for the monarch habitats. The Department and Pathfinders RC&D will provide $227,500 in matching funds to support the project.

The funds will be used in partnership with four current programs to establish monarch habitat as part of conservation efforts. The programs that will be part of the grant are the Buffer Initiative Program, Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, Abandoned Mine Land Program, and Urban Conservation Program.

“These funds will allow us to better incorporate habitat into our existing conservation programs that will benefit monarchs and other pollinators,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey.

In 2015 the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) established the Monarch Butterfly Conservation Fund to protect, conserve, and increase habitat for these insects and other pollinators. The Fund supports efforts for growth of monarch butterfly population numbers, with a goal of stabilizing the population and continuing its migratory phenomenon.

NFWF received 115 proposals, with a total request of more than $19.5 million. The 22 projects chosen represent a total award amount of $3,310,668, which will be further influenced by $6,691,153 in grantee matching contributions for a total on-the-ground impact of $10,001,821. The full release from NFWF can be found here.