Give to Nature for #GivingTuesdayCLT
November 9, 2015
More than $67,000 Raised for #GivingTuesdayCLT
December 7, 2015
CLC aims to help the regal butterfly bounce back from severe decline
The monarch butterfly is in trouble. And that means our ecosystem is in trouble. The monarch population in the United States has been reduced by 90 percent in the last 20 years. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing a petition to have them added to the endangered species list.
The decline has been blamed on illegal logging in the butterflies’ Mexican wintering grounds and the drop in milkweed habitat in the U.S. due to overuse of pesticides in current agricultural practices.
Monarchs depend not only on nectar-producing plants, but also milkweed as the primary food source for their caterpillars.
By protecting natural lands and actively working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to restore milkweed habitat on conserved properties, we’re helping the monarch recover!
In October, staff and volunteers planted more than 700 milkweeds propagated by the North Carolina Botanical Garden on two of our conserved properties, Buffalo Creek Preserve in Mt. Pleasant and Seven Oaks Preserve in Belmont.
The planting is part of a national monarch conservation project to protect and increase habitat needed for this iconic insect. Learn more.