Community Profile

City of Madison

Madison, WI

Satya Rhodes-Conway

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Madison, WI is known for its lakes, parks, and active population with a love of outdoor recreation. With 6,000 acres of parkland and 1,700 acres of greenways, ponds and bike paths, the city has a lot of urban greenspace on which to implement a vision of improved ecological health and function, aesthetically pleasing recreational space, and shared wildlife habitat. Madison is committed to maximizing biodiversity on public land by a targeted program of installing native plants, controlling invasive species, and altering management practices to favor native species. Monarch butterflies are a flagship species that help inform and guide these management practices and serve as a centerpiece around which to organize citizen education and outreach efforts.

Community Spotlight

Action Items Committed for 2022

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 community garden groups and urge them to plant native milkweeds and nectar-producing plants.
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.
Engage with gardening leaders and partners (e.g., Master Naturalists, Master Gardeners, Nature Centers, Native Plant Society Chapters , other long-standing and influential community leaders) to support monarch butterfly conservation.
Create a community-driven educational conservation strategy, initiative, or practice that focuses on and benefits local, underserved residents.
Create a community art project to enhance and promote monarch and pollinator conservation as well as cultural awareness and recognition.
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 ▸

Host or support a native seed or plant sale, giveaway or swap.
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.
Convert vacant lots to monarch habitat.
Plant milkweed and pollinator-friendly native nectar plants along roadsides, medians, or public rights-of-way.
Launch or maintain an outdoor education program(s) (e.g., at schools, after-school programs, community centers and groups) that builds awareness and creates habitat by engaging students, educators, and the community in planting native milkweed and pollinator-friendly native nectar plants (i.e., National Wildlife Federation’s Schoolyard Habitats program and Monarch Mission curriculum).
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).
Initiate or support community science (or citizen science) efforts that help monitor monarch migration and health.
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 ▸

Remove milkweed from the list of noxious plants in city weed / landscaping ordinances (if applicable).
Change weed or mowing ordinances to allow for native prairie and plant habitats.
Integrate monarch butterfly conservation into the city’s Park Master Plan, Sustainability Plan, Climate Resiliency Plan or other city plans.
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 Satya Rhodes-Conway	2026	1/27/2026		View Pledge
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway	2025	1/24/2025	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway	2024	2/20/2024	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway	2023	4/28/2023	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway	2022	2/24/2022	Leadership Circle	View Pledge

Pledge Status

Pledge Date

Program Year

Achievement

Links and Uploads

Action Item Report