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Summary for 2024

Whiting, Indiana is home to an estimated 5,000 people and is located on the shore of beautiful Lake Michigan. The city is in the heart of one of the most diverse ecological areas in the state boasting numerous wetlands and smaller lakes in nearby communities. Despite the beautiful setting, Whiting sits in the middle of a highly industrialized area. Whiting is host to the largest oil refinery in the Midwest, British Petroleum. This industrial area poses environmental challenges of all kinds. Last fall our public park was planted with thousands of native plants, including milkweed for our Monarchs. Plans are for additional plantings this year. Mayor Spebar has signed on to the Monarch Pledge and promises to support the planting of native pollinator plants throughout the city.

Summary for 2024

Evans City is settled in a valley surrounded by large hills and beautiful landscape. This quaint Pennsylvania town is conveniently located just north of Pittsburgh and just south of two state parks, Moraine and McConnell's Mill and an environmental education center, the Jennings Commission. These are all in Butler County, PA. Our population with the 2020 census is at 1,850 people with equal groupings of young couples starting out, families with children looking for quiet environment for them live and learn and an older population that were born, raised, and plan to live out their lives here. We have a family dairy, Marburger Dairy, that is a national champion in the buttermilk and chocolate milk taste competition and their milk products are shipped across the United States. We are also known for our sweet corn that another local farmer started many years ago to feed his family of 13 and now stills feeds the 3rd generation of this family which has increased exponentially. They start in March with preparing their fields for planting and have sweet corn ready for the 4th of July holiday picnics, as well as corn to sell at community grocers in Butler County. Evans City has many programs and services available for its citizens like, EDCO a community park and pool, 4-H group, active library programming, girl/boy scout troops, a senior citizens complex, student baseball fields from T-ball to high school age, and a Master Gardener with in our boundaries. All these opportunities would make this commitment to the monarch butterflies and their habitat a value to our community. Butler County has many agricultural aspects and is a learning center for all ages. We try to educate our folks by highlighting and encouraging a better understanding of the plight of our wildlife with the barn owl and osprey habitats at Moraine State Park, and our involvement over the years by hosting Earth Day activities at EDCO Park and down by the Breakneck Creek. Some Earth Day activities and booths are Rural Water Conservation, honey bee habitats, seedlings trees to be planted, warning about the use of pesticides and herbicides, re-entry of the barn owl native to our area, and organic gardening. Now we can add to Earth Day the importance of helping monarch butterflies. Some additional activities and events that we are thinking about this year are to get the word out of how important conservation of our land, air, water, and all wildlife is and highlighting and lifting the interest of all, on increasing the population and maintaining viability of the monarch butterflies. When it comes to interest and effort in committing to the monarch population and pollinator conservation, we are currently reviewing an HOA development that will have some expansion within our Borough lines. We are at the point of our review to negotiate with the developers to also help with the Monarch and pollinator plight by adding a garden or fence row around the development to assist. It is our aspiration that Evans City would be looking to plant more sustainable plants for the butterflies within our park, as well as, help to maintain a pollinator garden at our library that also houses our municipal government. We also were recently granted access to a parcel of land within our Borough that we are planning to start another butterfly/pollinator garden. Our approach is to take this venue to new heights over several years. Each year building on the one prior allowing for us to compliment, supplement and hopefully unite the community to join us as we develop the area for the butterflies, pollinators, and our public to enjoy and learn from. The Borough will be participating again in the Science Day at our elementary school to start the discussion and initiate families and kids to participate in this effort of aiding, assisting, supporting and conserving our area and homes to help sustain the monarch population. Our vision for our small town of Evans City in rural Pennsylvania is one of hope....hope for the health, welfare, and sustainability for our monarchs now and for the future.

Summary for 2024

Knightdale is a town in eastern Wake County, North Carolina, with a population of approximately 22,000 residents. Our strategic plan highlights sustainability as a core tenent. Knightdale seeks to promote the stewardship of our environment. Mayor Day and our Town Council have committed to saving the Mornarch Butterfly by joining this pledge.

Summary for 2024

City of Versailles, Missouri is a city of roughly 2,500 residents. The city is located at the crossroads of Highways 5 & 52 and serves as a gateway to beautiful Lake of the Ozarks. Versailles is the county seat and is home to 4 lovely parks and a community garden that is hosted by Ozark Prairie Master Gardeners and others. Other amenities include a historical museum, The Royal Theatre and Olde Tyme Apple Festival every October. Recently City of Versailles, MO was awarded grant funds to complete part of the Rock Island Trail that lies within the city limit. Mayor Jamie Morrow of Versailles, Missouri is devoted to preserving Monarch Butterfly and other pollinator habitats and is prepared to engage community members in building Monarch and other pollinator numbers.

Summary for 2024

The city of Boise has a robust Parks & Recreation department which is devoted to a healthy ecosystem. Pesticide reduction has been implemented over the last few years, and most city parks have beautiful pollinator gardens which are maintained by numerous volunteers. We have a Mayor's Monarch Pledge task force consisting of many city departments in addition to U.S. Fish & Wildlife, Soil & Water Conservation, Foothills Restoration, River Rewild Project, and more. Our cumulative efforts benefit our state insect, the Monarch Butterfly, and other pollinators.

Summary for 2024

Flagstaff is a city in Northern Arizona with a population of around 70,000. Flagstaff sits at 7,000 ft. in elevation and is known for proximity to an array of unique landscapes including Grand Canyon National Park. Mayor Daggett of Flagstaff, AZ has committed to a fifth year of preserving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators through the Mayor's Monarch Pledge. This past year, Flagstaff was able to propagate and implement hundreds of pollinator friendly plants in local parks, schools, community gardens, and other significant City properties. Flagstaff looks forward to continuing to support increased education and habitat for pollinators in 2024.

Summary for 2024

This will be our 5th year that the city of Palos Heights is committing the Mayors' Monarch Pledge. We have conducted a variety of actions over the years as part of our commitment including planting pollinator gardens, restoring landscapes, and educational programs, events and outreach. We are excited to continue this effort in 2024 to help the beleaguered Monarch butterfly with a variety of new restoration efforts and educational programs.

Summary for 2024

Summary for 2024

The Village of Shorewood is located in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Approximately a mile square, the Village is bordered by Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River. It's population of more than 13,000 people is known for it's diversity and commitment to education and environment. The Village of Shorewood is committed to the creation and preservation of natural wildlife habitats . As part of those efforts, the Shorewood Monarch Project, an inter-generational community initiative, was created to increase awareness about the importance of butterflies, bees, and other pollinating insects and to encourage residents to conserve and create healthy habitats for pollinators in their own yards. The village maintains two certified Monarch Waystations including a colossal waystation along the Lake Michigan migratory pathway. Shorewood has participated in the Mayor's Monarch Pledge since 2016 at a leadership level. We are also a member of the Wisconsin Monarch Collaborative. Our local efforts include maintaining a number of native public gardens and green spaces throughout the Village, annual distribution of milkweed plants, encouraging residents to create butterfly gardens by offering workshops, garden photo-contests, and social media posts. We also work with schools on education efforts related to butterfly conservation. Our local public library hosts an annual live caterpillar to butterfly exhibit to educate the public about the monarch lifecycle and generate interest in the plight of monarch butterflies.

Summary for 2024

Denver is a city of approximately 1 million people in Colorado. The city of Denver is certified as a Community Wildlife Habitat city by the National Wildlife Federation, and is an Urban Bird Treaty City designated by US Fish and Wildlife Service. Denver Mayor recognizes the importance of wildlife habitat in large cities like Denver, and is committed to the Mayor's Monarch Butterfly initiative through conservation efforts and actions.