Critical pollinator habitat is disappearing in the United States, and pollinator populations are following. The Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund (BBHF) is playing an integral role in incentivizing quality habitat for monarchs, honeybees, and other pollinators. Their innovative techniques to engage landowners in establishing and maintaining pollinator habitat make BBHF a great fit for the MJV.
“The Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund is a diverse and successful partnership that really drives on-the-ground habitat work in an important region for monarchs. Leveraging the power of two pollinator icons, the monarch and the honeybee, BBHF’s structure offers unique opportunities to support habitat while expanding partnerships for monarch conservation.” Wendy Caldwell, MJV Coordinator
The BBHF collaborates with landowners, conservationists, scientists, and beekeepers to efficiently implement quality pollinator habitat with projects that work with agriculture. Using advanced technology, research, and monitoring, they are able to build sustainable habitat with appropriate bloom diversity, density and duration, maximizing the benefits of these efforts for both pollinators and landowners.
In their first three years, the BBHF has expanded their NextGen habitat program to include six Midwestern states, and have planted more than 6.5 million milkweed seeds!
“We have a moment in time right now to make a difference for monarchs and all pollinators” stated Pete Berthelsen, BBHF Partnership Coordinator. “Increased public understanding about the perilous decrease in monarch populations make this the best time in history to galvanize that public interest into habitat efforts that benefit monarchs, pollinators, water quality, soil health, food sustainability and a long list of other important factors”.
The Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund has great resources and information about current projects on their website.
The Monarch Joint Venture is a national partnership of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academic programs working together to conserve the monarch butterfly migration. The content in this article does not necessarily reflect the positions of all Monarch Joint Venture partners. Header photo by Peter Berthelsen.