The Obama administration has announced a plan to help the dwindling honeybee and monarch butterfly populations. The plan includes a 1,500-mile butterfly corridor along U.S. Interstate 35 that runs between Minnesota and Texas.
As HNGN previously reported, the monarch butterfly population has dropped 90 percent in the past two decades, bringing the monarch butterfly that much closer to endangered status. Experts measured the area covered by the butterfly just north of Mexico City and found that the butterfly covered about two football fields worth of land, according to News Maine. In better days, monarch butterflies covered an area equal to 15 football fields.
The milkweed and nectar-producing plants along the butterfly's migratory route have also suffered due to pesticide use, according to an earlier report by HNGN. "They (butterflies) ate the insecticide-laden milkweed for seven days. The two varieties of butterfly, the Painted Lady and the Monarch Butterfly, survived, but their larvae died."
Interstate 35 bisects the monarch's natural migration routes, according to News Maine, which makes it a great spot for a "butterfly highway." The Xerces Foundation has partnered with the Federal Highway Administration for roadside management.
"The idea is to use it as this iconic pathway to work with schools, farmers, ranchers, and park districts to improve habitats for 50 to 100 miles on either side of the I-35 corridor," said Scott Black, executive director of Xerces Foundation for Invertebrate Conservation, according to News Maine.
Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity told Mother Jones that she has her doubts that the "National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators" will be enough. "The goal the strategy sets for the monarch butterfly migration is far too low for the population to be resilient," she said in an email. According to Mother Jones, Curry recommended adding more protection and a ban of harmful pesticides.
