A monarch butterfly feeds on flowers at Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve in Suamico Sept. 26, 2017. PC: Fox 11 Online
TOWN OF CENTER, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Northeast Wisconsin lawmakers wants to make the endangered Monarch butterfly the state butterfly.
Rep. Paul Tittl of Manitowoc and Senator Rachael Cabral-Guevara of Appleton introduced the legislation at the Butterfly Garden of Wisconsin near Appleton Monday.
Seventeen other legislators throughout Wisconsin are backing the initiative.
Supporters hope the attention brought by the designation can potentially spark greater awareness and support for the monarch’s protection and habitat conservation.
“Monarchs are wonderful pollinators and their conservation directly benefits a variety of other plants, animals and pollinators. Because children love Monarchs, their presence also helps kids to enjoy outdoors,” Tittl wrote.
In 2022, the monarch butterfly was added to the “red list” of threatened species and categorized as “endangered” — two steps from extinct.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 95% of the western monarch population has disappeared since the 1980s due to habitat loss, climate change and pesticide use.
Monarchs play a vital role as pollinators for many wildflowers.
Monarchs migrate from Mexico north into Wisconsin in May. They breed in Wisconsin and migrate south to Mexico in the fall.
You can help Monarchs by planting milkweed and nectar plants, reducing pesticide use, and cutting back on mowing, especially during the breeding season.
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