A coalition of groups in Westmoreland County is encouraging people in the Laurel Highlands to make their properties part of a nationwide effort to create habitat for monarch butterflies.
Every fall, monarchs migrate through western Pennsylvania to Mexico, and the Westmoreland Pollinator Partners wants to help them survive. The group, a coalition of 24 nonprofit organizations, parks, schools and community gardens in Westmoreland County, is looking for 250 properties in the Laurel Highlands to become monarch waystations, providing the butterflies with more places to breed, eat and rest.
“A monarch waystation is simply a habitat that supports monarch butterflies in all of their life stages,” said Melissa Reckner, program manager of Brandywine Conservancy’s Penguin Court Preserve, a member of the coalition located in Laughlintown.
Monarch waystations must include milkweed, as it is the caterpillars’ only source of food. They also need to have nectar plants such as asters, goldenrods and native sunflowers, which are necessary for mating spots and places to eat.
Monarchs have declined by more than 80 percent since the 1990s from milkweed disappearance, habitat loss and pesticide use, according to the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, which filed a lawsuit in February to force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to set a date to finalize federal protections for the butterfly. The Trump administration delayed listing the monarch as an endangered species late last year.
“Monarchs need our help, and we need monarchs because they are spectacular and irreplaceable,” said Tierra Curry of the Center for Biological Diversity in a press release.
Westmoreland Pollinator Partners currently has 34 waystations to date in its effort to certify 250 in the Laurel Highlands, to honor America’s 250th anniversary. Properties will be certified under a program through Monarch Watch, a national effort to increase habitat along the butterfly’s migration route to Mexico.
There is no cost to participate for people in Cambria, Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties. Brandywine Conservancy will cover the certification costs through a grant from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, which oversees the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape Initiative. FirstEnergy will cover the cost of the metal sign included with the certification.
What’s required for a waystation
Monarch Watch has a set of guidelines for waystations:
- Size: No minimum requirement, but best at 100 square feet or more.
- Sunlight: Provide at least six hours a day.
- Shelter: Space milkweeds and nectar plants relatively close together to provide shelter from predators and the elements.
- Nectar Plants: Provide nectar throughout the breeding season and the fall migration.
- Milkweed Plants. Plant at least 10 milkweed plants made up of two or more species, so they mature and flower at different times.
- Management: Eliminate insecticide use and remove invasive plant species
While the coalition is specifically looking for people in the Laurel Highlands, Reckner strongly encourages everyone to make their gardens more monarch-friendly to help the butterflies on their 3,000-mile journey to Mexico.
“Our efforts of establishing waystations and providing that connectivity across the county, across the state, and across the nation are making a difference,” she said
Reckner recommends buying plants from native plant nurseries because those at big box stores are often sprayed with pesticides that can harm monarchs.
“Sadly, a lot of the big box stores sell cultivars and a lot those plants might be treated with neonicotinoids [a common pesticide], which are not beneficial to any insects. I encourage people to seek out the smaller native plant nurseries,” she said.
The application to become a monarch waystation in the Laurel Highlands can be found here.
Those not in the Laurel Highlands can submit an application directly to Monarch Watch.
