Monarch Research Project
The Monarch Research Project, a non-profit based in Marion, Iowa, aims to support native pollinator habitats and restore the monarch butterfly population in Linn County, creating a national model for conservation efforts across the country.
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ABOUT
The Monarch Research Project is a non-profit organization headquartered in Marion, Iowa. We seek to add native pollinator habitat and reestablish the monarch population in Linn County, establishing a model for the whole country. Founded by Clark McLeod and Cam Watts, MRP has defined three objectives to accomplish its mission. These three bold goals have been dubbed “moonshots.”
- Rebuild natural habitat on both public and private land in Linn County (Pollinator Zones™)
- Boost monarch population in the spring to augment natural reproduction by fall in Linn County (Monarch Zones®)
- Make Linn County a model for America, encourage other communities to join us (Zones Across America™)
Why This? Why Now?
That’s a question that’s been asked many times. The monarch is the “canary in the coal mine.” Its plight signals that pollinators in general cannot survive without the natural habitat that sustains them and, furthermore, it signals a ecological change that could become catastrophic. The Midwestern population of the iconic monarch butterfly had decreased by more than 90 percent in two decades. In 2014, a petition was submitted to protect the butterfly under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Ahead of the monarch was the bumble bee, which was added to the list in 2017. Honey bee colonies continued to face record colony losses. The monarch and bumble bee are pollinators, and as a group, they are essential to $24 billion in agricultural crops each year and more than 180,000 plant species. They are critically important to a healthy ecosystem, since most flowering plants require help from pollinators to produce food or seed. Yet their homes and food sources have disappeared and won’t return. Nearly 24 million acres of natural habitat had been converted to crop production between 2008 and 2011.
Why MRP?
In June 2016, Pulitzer Prize-winning environmental author Dan Fagin visited MRP. He commented, “What you are doing in Linn County really is extraordinary; I’m not aware of anyone else rearing monarchs and creating habitat in a particular county or city at the scale you are attempting. In fact, I don’t think anyone is even close.” “What you are doing is audacious in the best sense of the word: You’re trying something difficult, and you’re doing it for good reasons,” Fagin said.
Mission Statement
Monarch Research is a catalyst for action among public private partnerships and local landowners focusing efforts on a controlled community of interest (Linn County). The “lessons learned” create a playbook on how communities across America can create living landscapes sufficient enough to flatten the steep downward trend in the insect population (bees, butterflies, Pollinators) and associated species.