Conservation groups celebrating Idaho state insect through the month of September
Sam Ross
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)– The Portneuf Pollinator Partnership and Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust are highlighting the Monarch Butterfly, Idaho’s official state insect, in September when the bugs make their migratory trip through Southeast Idaho to winter in California.
Monarch Butterflies are important parts of Idaho’s ecosystem, acting as pollinators for native plant species and agriculture. However, Monarch populations west of the Rocky Mountains have declined as much as 95% over the past 20 years due to pesticide use, urban expansion, and climate change.
Local conservation groups are partnering to bring awareness to the importance of the insects and help people make Idaho more livable for Monarch populations.
“We want to do everything that we can to help protect this species and help them thrive,” said Carly Flandro, community conservation, communications, and marketing coordinator for the Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust. “Every person in Idaho can do that in really simple ways: in their own yard, they can plant milkweed, and milkweed is a really important species because it’s the host plant for monarch caterpillars. It’s the only plant that monarchs lay their eggs on, so it’s essential to their survival.”
The Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust and Portneuf Pollinator Partnership will set up at the Portneuf Valley Farmers Market on Saturday, September 6, where they will hand out free packets of native milkweed seeds for people to plant Monarch way stations in their own yards.
The conservation groups will be at the farmers market at Lookout Point in Pocatello from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, you can visit the Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust website.