Community Profile

City of Fayetteville

Fayetteville, AR

Molly Rawn

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Fayetteville, Arkansas is a city of approximately 103,000 people located in the Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas and home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville and the Northwest Arkansas region has experienced unprecedented growth in recent decades, due in part the area’s scenic beauty, low cost of living, and the home presence of multiple fortune 500 companies such as Walmart and Tyson Foods, which have brought new jobs and accelerated economic development. Fayetteville’s population has increased by approximately 40% from that of the 2010 census count of 73,580. This rapid growth will undoubtedly impact the local ecology without proactive efforts to protect our natural resources and ecosystem. By participating in the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge, Mayor Rawn is leading Fayetteville in taking steps to protect our monarch and pollinator populations through direct stewardship and educational activities. These efforts, bolstered by the participation of additional municipalities across the region, will serve to raise local awareness and increase pollinator habitat and the presence of the monarch butterfly in Fayetteville and throughout Northwest Arkansas.

Community Spotlight

Fayetteville GreenWayStation

This monarch waystation, installed in 2021 along the Razorback Regional Greenway at the Marion Orton Recycling Center, was planned, built and constructed by a dedicated volunteer (pictured here) in partnership with the City of Fayetteville.

Action Items Committed for 2026

Communications and Convening ▸

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.
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 community garden groups and urge them to plant native milkweeds and nectar-producing plants.

Program and Demonstration Gardens ▸

Host or support a native seed or plant sale, giveaway or swap.
Plant or maintain a monarch and pollinator-friendly demonstration garden at City Hall or another prominent or culturally significant community location.
Plant milkweed and pollinator-friendly native nectar plants along roadsides, medians, or public rights-of-way.
Earn or maintain recognition for being a wildlife-friendly city by participating in other wildlife and habitat conservation efforts (i.e., National Wildlife Federation’s Community Wildlife Habitat program).
Add or maintain native milkweed and nectar-producing plants in gardens in the community.
Launch, expand, or continue an invasive species removal program that will support the re-establishment of native habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.
Display educational signage at monarch gardens and pollinator habitat.

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.
Launch, expand, or continue one or more ordinances to reduce light pollution to benefit urban wildlife.

Past Pledge Archive

Mayor Name	Program Year	Pledge Date	Achievement
Mayor Molly Rawn	2026	2/5/2026		View Pledge
Mayor Molly Rawn	2025	3/28/2025	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor Lioneld Jordan	2024	3/22/2024	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor Lioneld Jordan	2023	3/20/2023	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor Lioneld Jordan	2022	4/27/2022	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor Lioneld Jordan	2021	3/30/2021	Leadership Circle	View Pledge

Pledge Status

Pledge Date

Program Year

Links and Uploads

Action Item Report