1. 9/30/2015 InsideNPS | Headlines
http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewprintheadline&type=Announcements&id=17733 1/1
MISSISSIPPI NATIONAL RIVER & RECREATION AREA
Adopt a Monarch at MISS!
This July, park visitors to Mississippi National River and Recreation Area’s (MISS) Coldwater Spring Unit enjoyed the
spectacular wildflower bloom: a brilliant palette of oranges, purples, blues, and sunshine yellow. The shoulder­high
plants in the meadow really put on a show, and attracted a wide variety of pollinators including monarch butterflies!
Located in the heart of monarch breeding territory, the restored prairie at Coldwater Spring provides food, shelter and
space for this amazing species that has declined more than 80% since 1990. The creation of this colorful monarch
sanctuary and projects that ultimately help these butterflies took years of work and tremendous effort from park staff
and volunteers.
Coldwater Spring wasn’t always vibrant butterfly habitat. It was a former Bureau of Mines campus, vacant for over a
decade. MISS acquired this site in 2010. The area required extensive renovation to restore the land to prairie and oak
savannah. MISS staff worked with 4,710 volunteers who donated 16,636 hours toward the transformation over the past
five years. Twelve buildings were removed in 2011­2012, and since then hundreds of trees and shrubs and thousands
of native wildflowers and grasses have been planted. These efforts created the monarch habitat that volunteers and
park visitors enjoy today.
The park’s Adopt a Monarch program gives people a chance to observe the charismatic caterpillars up close as they
rear them from egg to adult butterfly, and then release the butterflies in the restored prairie around Coldwater Spring.
Mortality rates for monarch eggs in the wild approach 90% so taking in eggs and rearing them in appropriate containers
can boost their chances of survival. Volunteers are excited to learn how to make a monarch box and care for
caterpillars. When they come back to the park and see a monarch butterfly, it could be one they released! They even
take the ideas home with them and start monarch nurseries of their own. In this way, individual actions multiply into
large­scale improvement in the species’ chances for survival.
Later this month, volunteers will help butterflies in another capacity by turning a hillside into a monarch haven, planting
blazing­star, milkweeds, and other pollinator­friendly native plants in a new 1000 square foot milkweed patch and
pollinator garden at Coldwater Spring on National Public Lands Day. There will also be opportunities to get involved in
seed collection from established prairie plants nearby.
As part of the park’s ongoing mission of monitoring and improving habitat, next summer we will be collecting data on
milkweed and monarch density at Coldwater Spring. This will help to inform future decision­making as we continue
striving to improve conditions for prairie species, like monarchs, and open the door for more volunteer participation
within our park.
Contact Information
Name: Kadie Gullickson
Phone Number: 651­293­8462
Email: kadie_gullickson@nps.gov
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