The Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition plans to have informational meetings early next year to help educate ranchers about its plan to help restore monarch habitats across Kansas grazing lands.
The coalition received a $125,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to help fund the $646,000 project. Coalition coordinator Barth Crouch says the project aims to change grazing management in the Red Hills and Flint Hills so that it’s better for pollinators. The group also plans to work with ranchers to determine best ways to get rid of invasive species. Crouch says it's an effort to restore habitat for the monarchs.
"They need to have grassland habitat that has the milkweed for them to live on and to lay eggs in and set the next generation going," he says. "Our grassland habitat is where they revive, revitalize and get new monarchs to head south with".
Crouch says the point of the grant is help pay for what works for monarchs that go through Kansas and native pollinators that live in the state year-round without any additional cost to ranchers.
--
Follow Carla Eckels on Twitter, @Eckels
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.
