The Monarch’s View of a City project will lay the groundwork for design principles to guide the development, testing and deployment of future urban conservation for the Monarch butterfly across the Eastern half of the country. This strategy will need to reflect an integrated and interdisciplinary approach, one that includes ecological and social dimensions specific to an urban landscape. Pilot design projects at various scales in at least two cities will advance the state of science for developing landscape conservation design (LCD) guidelines for monarch butterfly conservation in urban areas as described below. While the ETPBR LCC, working through US Fish & Wildlife Service staff, will select cities and manage pilot design projects in conjunction with a contract with the Chicago Wilderness and the Field Museum of Chicago, the US FWS worked through the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation as a fiduciary by providing project funds to the selected cities that the LCC chooses. In April 2016 two subawards were awarded under the Monarch’s View of Urban Landscapes: Pilot City Design Projects agreement. One subaward was made to Heartland Conservation Alliance, Inc. for $50,415.00 entitled “A Monarch’s View of Urban Landscapes: Kansas City Proof of Concept (KS, MO).” The second subaward was made to the Regents of the University of Minnesota for $44,584.18 entitled “Monarch’s View of Urban Landscapes: Productivity and Habitat Monitoring in Minnesota.” Interim report for project.
