The Nature Conservancy has received an almost $100,000 grant to enhance monarch butterfly habitats in Arkansas.
On April 5, the Nature Conservancy received a $99,999 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) that is designed to conserve monarch butterflies and other insect pollinators. Specifically, this grant is aimed at restore and enhancing pollinator habitats on rights-of-way, Nature Conservancy-owned lands and at Logan Cave National Wildlife Refuge.
This project is expected to restore 50 acres and improve another 2,200 acres.
In addition to the grant amount, the project has $143,500 in matching funds for a total project amount of $243,499. These grants were provided through the Monarch Butterfly and Pollinators Conservation Fund, which is a partnership between NFWF and Bayer Crop Science, Shell Oil Company, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“Monarch butterflies and pollinators make essential contributions to natural ecosystems, agriculture and the economy,” Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF, said in a statement. “The grants announced today will advance collaborations with public and private land managers to restore and improve habitat for pollinators and other wildlife.”
There are 13 projects in total receiving grant funding, generating $3.3 million in matching funds. The NFWF projected that the project will restore 32,000 acres of pollinator habitat, as well as propagating more than 19,000 milkweed seedlings.
Other funded projects are based in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
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