Contact:
Marilyn Gann
Columbia, MO April 11, 2022 – The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Missouri encourages landowners in Northwest Missouri to apply for funding through the Program Restoring and Improving Monarch Ecosystems (PRIME) by May 20, 2022.
PRIME is a partner project funded through the USDA's Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), led by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever with support from the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Saint Louis Zoo. This project aims to increase monarch and pollinator habitat in Northwest Missouri through land management practices and short-term land rental payments. PRIME will target lands currently enrolled in and expiring from Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), enhancing monarch habitat by maintaining and restoring diverse native plant communities.
Qualifying counties are as follows:
Andrew, Atchison, Benton, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Henry, Holt, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Pettis, Platte, Ray, Saline, Worth counties.
The annual migration of the monarch butterfly is a unique and amazing phenomenon. In North America, the Rocky Mountains separate monarch butterflies into two general populations; Western and Eastern. The Western population migrates along the California coast, and the Eastern population migrates from Mexico to Canada and back. Monarchs are the only butterfly with such an advanced, two-way migration up to 3,000 miles long. Since the 1990s, there has been a significant decline in the monarch butterfly population due to many factors, with habitat loss being the leading cause. Missouri serves as critical habitat for the Eastern population from Spring through Fall. One of their primary migration routes bisects northwest Missouri and is referred to as the I-35 Monarch Migration Corridor. For this reason, PRIME is being offered in Missouri NRCS’ administrative Area 1.
To learn more about the Program Restoring and Improving Monarch Ecosystems (PRIME) RCPP or to apply, contact your local NRCS service center in Area 1 using the farmers.gov Service Center Locator, or contact Marilyn Gann at Marilyn.gann@usda.gov or (573) 876-9398.
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