Community Profile

City of Salem

Salem, OR

Chris Hoy

Mayor

Pledge Summary

The City of Salem, located in the heart of the lush Willamette River Valley, is the state capital of Oregon, government seat of Marion County, and the state's third largest city. Salem's landscape is characterized by a mix of rich valley farmland and orchards, rolling hills, mixed forests, the Willamette River, many creeks and wetlands, numerous parks and natural areas, and a growing urban community. Salem first took the Mayors Monarch Pledge in 2017, joining other cities across the United States, Canada, and Mexico to take action to help save the monarch butterfly. We have renewed our pledge annually since then, and 2024 is no exception. This year, Salem's Mayor, Chris Hoy, is renewing the City's commitment to increasing monarch and pollinator habitat throughout the City of Salem and encouraging the public to do the same.

Community Spotlight

Action Items Committed for 2024

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.
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.

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.
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).
Launch, expand, or continue an invasive species removal program that will support the re-establishment of native habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.

Systems Change ▸

Reduce or eliminate the use of herbicides, pesticides, or other chemicals that are harmful to monarchs and pollinators and urban wildlife.

Past Pledge Archive

Mayor Name	Program Year	Pledge Date	Achievement
Mayor Chris Hoy	2024	2/9/2024	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor Chris Hoy	2023	2/24/2023	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor Chuck Bennett	2022	1/18/2022	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor Chuck Bennett	2021	2/16/2021	Signatories	View Pledge

Pledge Status

Pledge Date

Program Year

Achievement

Links and Uploads

Action Item Report