Great River Greening

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Plant list for monarch butterflies in the midwest

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS )is working with agricultural producers to combat the decline of monarch butterflies by planting milkweed and other nectar-rich wildflowers on private lands.NRCS worked with The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and butterfly experts across the United States to choose the best milkweed species and nectar producing plants to recommend for landowners. Plant lists are available for producers in the Midwest and southern Great Plains.Biologists were represented from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Prairie Haven, Zumbro Valley Audubon, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Ernst Conservation Seeds, Great River Greening and others.With assistance from NRCS, producers and conservation partners can plant milkweed and nectar-rich plants along field borders, in buffers along waterways or around wetlands, in pastures and other suitable locations.Go to NRCS webpage