Community Profile

Pledge Status

Did Not Report

Pledge Date

Sunday, March 21, 2021

Program Year

2021

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Action Item Report

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Corporation of Shepherdstown

Shepherdstown , WV

Jim Auxer

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Shepherdstown is the oldest town in the state of West Virginia. It is a progressive town that prides itself on the many parks within the town. Mayor Jim Auxer is committed to the preservation of the monarch butterfly, milkweed, and the pollinators that support them. The signing of the Mayor’s Pledge is an honor and looks forward to engaging the public in this endeavor.

Community Spotlight

Action Items Committed for 2021

Communications and Convening

  • Launch or maintain a public communication effort to encourage residents to plant monarch gardens at their homes or in their neighborhoods. (If you have community members who speak a language other than English, we encourage you to also communicate in that language; Champion Pledges must communicate in that language.)
  • Engage with city parks and recreation, public works, sustainability, and other relevant staff to identify opportunities to revise and maintain mowing programs and milkweed / native nectar plant planting programs.
  • Issue a proclamation to raise awareness about the decline of the monarch butterfly and the species’ need for habitat. This proclamation must incorporate a focus on monarch conservation.

Program and Demonstration Gardens

  • Facilitate or support a milkweed seed collection and propagation effort.
  • Plant or maintain a monarch and pollinator-friendly demonstration garden at City Hall or another prominent or culturally significant community location.
  • Add or maintain native milkweed and nectar-producing plants in gardens in the community.

Systems Change

  • Change weed or mowing ordinances to allow for native prairie and plant habitats.
  • Increase the percentage of native plants, shrubs and trees that must be used in city landscaping ordinances and encourage use of milkweed, where appropriate.
  • Integrate monarch butterfly conservation into the city’s Park Master Plan, Sustainability Plan, Climate Resiliency Plan or other city plans.