Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today a total of $758,810 in funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)’s Monarch Butterfly and Pollinators Conservation Fund (Pollinator Fund) for two projects that will increase and improve western monarch butterfly and pollinator habitats in Oregon.
“We’ve all experienced the moment of excitement when we spot a monarch butterfly fluttering through the air. If we allow the iconic western monarch butterfly to go extinct, we will not only lose this beautiful species, but a critical pollinator forever,” said Merkley, who secured the federal funding as Chair of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, where he continuously boosts conservation efforts for monarch and other pollinators. “Groups and communities across Oregon and across the West are stepping up to find sustainable solutions, from planting pollinator-friendly gardens in their yards to providing resources and habitats for them. This funding, which includes the federal funding I secured, will further fuel our collective efforts to save this species before time runs out.”
“Monarch butterflies are crucial pollinators on the West Coast, where much of America’s food is grown,” Wyden said. “This investment will support a vital component of our food ecosystem while also helping to preserve a species that symbolizes the rebirth and resiliency Oregonians are known for.”
Today’s investments are part of $5.2 million in grants recently awarded by the NFWF’s Pollinator Fund for projects to conserve monarch butterflies and other insect pollinators in 24 states. Details of the projects in Oregon are as follows:
- $458,810 for the Pollinator Partnership to support Partner Biologists in planning climate-smart voluntary conservation efforts for private working lands that benefit the monarch butterfly and other pollinators across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The project is expected to restore 100 acres, improve 500 acres, develop 80 conservation plans, reach 720 people, and host 30 events.
- $300,000 for The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation to sustain their Monarch and Pollinator Habitat Kit Program that supports monarch butterfly and other pollinators on public and private lands in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregions, eastern Washington, and California. The project is expected to improve 500 acres, reach 200 people, and host 16 events.
These efforts are critically needed, as the western monarch population has declined over 95%, from as many as 10 million in the 1980s, to just over 233,000 counted last winter. These low populations are dangerous for humans, as 75 percent of the world’s flowering plants, and about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce.
Ensuring pollinator survival means ensuring our own survival. That’s why Merkley has led a series of actions to revive the populations of western monarch and other pollinators, like honeybees. His efforts include hosting Monarch Butterfly Summits in partnership with the Department of the Interior, the first of which announced a $1 million investment in the NFWF Pollinator Fund and established a Pollinator Conservation Center at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Merkley also introduced and passed the bipartisan Monarch and Pollinator Highway Act and he introduced the Pollinator Power Act, which would incentivize pollinator habitats surrounding new solar projects carried out through the Rural Energy for America Program. Merkley is also behind the MONARCH Act and the Pollinator-Friendly Plant Labeling Act, both of which are cosponsored by Wyden.
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