Natl Enviro. Orgs Join Together To Save The Monarchs

[Mona Miller]

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wild Ones
PO Box 1274
Appleton, WI 54912-1274
(920) 720-3986 or (877) 394-9453
execdirector@wildones.org www.wildones.org

Monarch Joint Venture
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology
University of Minnesota
1980 Folwell Ave
St Paul, MN 55108
(612) 625-8304
pshahani@umn.edu www.monarchjointventure.org

Bring Back the Monarchs
Monarch Watch
University of Kansas
1200 Sunnyside Ave
Lawrence, KS 66045-7534
(785) 864-4441
bbtm@monarchwatch.org www.monarchwatch.org

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS JOIN TOGETHER TO SAVE THE MONARCH!
Wild Ones goes Wild for Monarchs!

Wild Ones, Native Plants, Natural Landscapers, has joined forces with Monarch Joint Venture and Monarch Watch's Bring Back the Monarch Campaign in an effort to save America's favorite butterfly, the Monarch. According to Chip Taylor of Monarch Watch, monarch numbers are down across the US mostly because of habitat loss. The overuse of herbicides along roadsides and elsewhere is turning diverse areas that support monarchs, pollinators, and other wildlife into grass-filled landscapes that support few species.

Wild Ones brings knowledge and support regarding the plants that the monarchs need to survive. The major emphasis for this partnership will be to increase the number of milkweed plants across the US. Wild Ones membership and 50 local chapters will work at the "plants-roots" level to educate the public and to plant local varieties of milkweed.

Wild Ones, Native Plants, Natural Landscapes educates about and advocates the use of locally native plants and natural landscaping, and the restoration, preservation and establishment of ecosystems through networking, educational programs, chapter activities and other events.

The Monarch Joint Venture is a partnership of organizations working together across the continental U.S. to conserve the monarch migration, through a strategic and science-based approach. The MJV's work includes: habitat conservation in monarch breeding grounds and western overwintering sites; education to share information on monarchs with diverse audiences; and research and monitoring to inform monarch conservation efforts.

The Bring Back the Monarch program's goals are to restore 20 milkweed species to their native ranges throughout the United States. Milkweeds are the only plants on which monarch females will lay eggs and the larvae will feed. To sustain the monarch population, it is necessary to restore milkweeds and replace the monarch habitats lost to development, roadside maintenance and agriculture. Adult monarchs need nectar to reproduce and this program encourages the planting of nectar producing native flowers that support monarchs and other pollinators.

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If you would like more information about this topic or to schedule an interview, contact Donna VanBuecken of Wild Ones , execdirector@wildones.org or Priya Shahani of Joint Monarch Venture, pshahani@umn.edu, or Chip Taylor of Monarch Watch, chip@ku.edu.

[Paul Cherubini]

To sustain the monarch population, it is necessary to restore milkweeds and replace the monarch habitats lost to development, roadside maintenance and agriculture.

Press release fails to explain how it ever could be logistically feasible or financially
affordable for society to "replace the monarch habitats lost to development, roadside maintenance and agriculture" or stop the ongoing losses.

Therefore milkweed abundance can be expected to continue to decline as it has over the past 50 years due to sprawl and ever more intensive weed control practices on farmland, pastures and roadsides.

Therefore the numbers of fall migrant monarch arriving at the overwintering sites each fall can be expected to continue to decline.

[blazing star]

Paul, every single one of your posts talks about how great GMO crop fields (which serve actually no useful purpose for monarchs) but then you put down a coalition that is actually trying to help monarchs with actual habit that is of necessity for the life-cycle of monarchs. Makes no sense, your thought process.....

[Paul Cherubini]

you put down a coalition that is actually trying to help monarchs with actual habit that is of necessity for the life-cycle of monarchs. Makes no sense, your thought process.....

I did not "put down a coalition". I only stated that from a mathematical point of view the coalition "fails to explain how it ever could be logistically feasible or financially affordable for society to "replace the monarch habitats lost to development, roadside maintenance and agriculture" or stop the ongoing losses."

The arithmetic is simple; i.e. last July Dr. Chip Taylor told a New York Times reporter: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/scien ... d=all&_r=0 "the growing use of genetically modified crops is threatening the orange-and-black butterfly by depriving it of habitat. "This milkweed has disappeared from at least 100 million acres of these row crops," said Dr. Taylor

Then in Sept. Dr. Taylor told a Kansas City Star reporter:
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/01/37 ... ed-to.html
"Fields of soybeans and corn were important sources of milkweeds for monarchs,” said Taylor" "It was ideal habitat because we had maybe 20 to 30 nice milkweed plants per acre in all those fields," Taylor said.

So according to Dr. Taylor, prior to the introduction of GMO corn and soybean crops "we had maybe 20 to 30 nice milkweed plants per acre" in those fields and now: "This milkweed has disappeared from at least 100 million acres of these row crops"

So in summary 20 to 30 milkweed plants per acre have dissappeared from 100,000,000 acres (= dissappeared from 156,250 square miles of land = a land area 3 times larger than the State of Illinois).

Thus it should be intuitive and obvious that it could never be logistically feasible or financially affordable for society to restore the 20 to 30 milkweed plants per acre that used to exist on 100,000,000 acres of farmland.

Same elementary math can be used when contemplating whether or not it could ever be logistically feasible or financially affordable for society to restore the vast amount of milkweeed permanently lost each year due to sprawl and roadside maintenance.

[Mona Miller]

Paul, every single one of your posts talks about how great GMO crop fields (which serve actually no useful purpose for monarchs) but then you put down a coalition that is actually trying to help monarchs with actual habit that is of necessity for the life-cycle of monarchs. Makes no sense, your thought process.....

I don't need to say anything more. Blazing Star said it all.

[Paul Cherubini]

I don't need to say anything more. Blazing Star said it all.

In spite of the substantially increased yields that GMO crops like corn have provided, the midwestern drought caused a corn supply shortage and thus cow feed prices to soar 50% in recent months which in turn has threatened the financial solvency of the dairy industry: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/cali ... s-17356072

Now imagine how much worse that 50% feed price increase would have been if GMO corn had not been allowed to be grown.

[blazing star]

Too bad we don't seem to apply the same economic, utilitarian value to biodiversity. It would dwarf your concern of cow feed value.