Public Works Department - Highway Division
Monarch Butterfly Conservation
The Beltrami County Public Works Department - Highway Division is joining organizations across the United States participating in the Nationwide Monarch Butterfly Candidate Conservation Agreement for Energy and Transportation Lands (CCAA).
The monarch butterfly is one of the most recognizable species in North America. Over the past two decades, the numbers of monarchs in North America has dropped prompting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to join state agencies, tribes and many other groups to identify threats to the monarchs and take steps to help reverse their decline.
Each winter surveys are conducted by the World Wildlife Fund-Telmex Telcel Foundation Alliance (WWF) and the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas in Mexico (CONANP). According to the 2024-2025 Monarch Survey the population occupied 1.79 hectares over this past winter – an area roughly the size of 3.5 football fields. This is an increase from the 0.9 hectares occupied in the 2023-2024 overwintering season.
It's not just government & tribal agencies that are involved in the effort. There are actions that Landowners can take to help the monarchs.