Community Profile

Pledge Status

Complete

Pledge Date

Friday, March 4, 2022

Program Year

2022

Achievement

2022

Links and Uploads

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Action Item Report

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City of Rochester

Rochester, MN

Kim Norton

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Rochester, MN is a growing city in the north central part of the United States. We are a town of approximately 120,000 and the third largest city in Minnesota. We do have strategies in our Sustainability & Resiliency Plan that align with some of the action items suggested and our Sustainability Coordinator is excited to assist in this area. Many of the action items are already in the works under the guidance of our Environmental Education Specialist and City Parks Department Forester, too. We are all excited about continuing to make improvements that will support the Monarch!

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 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.
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.
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.
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 ▸

Reduce or eliminate the use of herbicides, pesticides, or other chemicals that are harmful to monarchs and pollinators and urban wildlife.
Remove milkweed from the list of noxious plants in city weed / landscaping ordinances (if applicable).
Integrate monarch butterfly conservation into the city’s Park Master Plan, Sustainability Plan, Climate Resiliency Plan or other city plans.

Past Pledge Archive

Mayor Name	Program Year	Pledge Date	Achievement
Mayor Kim Norton	2023	2/3/2023		View Pledge
Mayor Kim Norton	2022	3/4/2022	Leadership Circle	View Pledge