Community Profile

Pledge Status

Active

Pledge Date

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Program Year

2026

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Action Item Report

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New Milford

New Milford, CT

Pete Bass

Mayor

Pledge Summary

The Town of New Milford is a quaint town of approximately 29,000 in population located in the Litchfield County area of Connecticut. New Milford is a "Bee City" and home to many beautiful parks and rivers including Candlewood Lake. Mayor Bass has committed to helping save the monarch butterfly and other pollinators in signing of the Mayors Monarch Pledge and looks forward to raising community awareness.

Community Spotlight

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.
  • 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.

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.
  • Host or support a monarch neighborhood challenge to engage neighborhoods and homeowners' associations within the community to increase awareness, support community unity around a common mission, and/or create habitat for the monarch butterfly.
  • Add or maintain native milkweed and nectar-producing plants in gardens in the community.

Systems Change

  • Remove milkweed from the list of noxious plants in city weed / landscaping ordinances (if applicable).
  • Launch, expand, or continue one or more ordinances to reduce light pollution to benefit urban wildlife.