Photo Credit: Camdon Sweet, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
Monarch Joint Venture (MJV) is pleased to announce a new pollinator habitat restoration project in the Southern Plains, made possible by a Biodiversity Conservation Grant from the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF). The project will restore and enhance over 1,100 acres of public land at the Concannon and Finney Wildlife Management Areas in southwest Kansas, in collaboration with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) and Ducks Unlimited (DU).
The project comes at an important moment. A 2024 wildfire at Concannon Wildlife Management Area cleared a large area of invasive trees and set back other vegetation, creating a timely opportunity to rebuild habitat with pollinators in mind. MJV and partners will work to improve habitat quality and connectivity to benefit monarchs, native pollinators, and the broader grassland ecosystem.
Restoration activities include planting spring-flowering shrubs, increasing native plant diversity through seeding, removing additional invasive woody vegetation, and establishing flowering cover crops and native wildflower plugs where conditions allow.
Another key focus of the project is installing infrastructure to support rotational grazing, helping KDWP manage vegetation more effectively and reduce the risk of future wildfires. Rotational grazing will also help create a mosaic of flowering plants and open areas, providing critical resources for monarchs, regal fritillaries, Southern Plains bumblebees, and other pollinators, as well as grassland birds.
Volunteer involvement is central to the project. MJV and partners will host planting events, a monarch tagging demonstration, a guided prairie walk, and an educational field day. These opportunities will connect community members to hands-on habitat stewardship and provide accessible information about pollinator conservation. Outreach through local schools, conservation partners, and community networks will help broaden participation and support continued engagement throughout the project period.
MJV is grateful to NEEF for making this project possible. Together with our partners, we look forward to improving a wildfire-impacted landscape, engaging communities in stewardship, and helping secure a healthier future for monarchs and other at-risk pollinators in the Southern Plains.