Funding for Monarch Conservation in California
To help address the steep decline of the monarch population in California, the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (CARCD) has been awarded funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to build technical expertise for monarch conservation within our organization and the RCD network. Thanks to the NFWF funding, CARCD will be hiring two staff members to support the development of a coordinated and scientifically sound training and implementation strategy around our monarch conservation program. In particular, the strategy will help CARCD and RCDs successfully implement the RCD-led monarch and pollinator conservation projects recently funded by the Wildlife Conservation Board. The RCD network is identifying prime locations to offer one-on-one technical assistance to landowners, technical training for RCD practioners, and landowner technical assistance workshops.
Integrating our statewide monarch conservation program with other Californian and national conservation groups will require strong partnerships and thoughtful coordination. We are proud to announce that we have joined the Monarch Joint Venture partnership, which brings together government agencies, NGOs, businesses, and academic institutions to work together to implement science-based conservation actions.
In their announcement, the Monarch Joint Venture said “the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts seeks to create a network of partnerships that uses pollinator habitat conservation to achieve goals set both inside and outside of monarch conservation. Moving forward, we are excited to help CARCD support California’s RCDs and other partners on their quest to expand monarch and natural resource conservation in California.”
With new sources of funding and strong partnerships with other groups working in this space, including the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, RCDs have already begun implementing monarch conservation projects in high priority areas. We will continue to develop projects over the next few years to create a linkage of monarch habitat along their migratory flyway in California. Stay tuned for more updates!
