When maintaining a native plant habitat for monarchs or other pollinators, proper management is a must. Mowing is one practice that can help control woody vegetation or weedy species and prevent undesirable species from setting seed if timed appropriately. It is important to apply pollinator-friendly best management practices when using any habitat management technique, such as mowing, grazing, prescribed fire, or pesticide application. MJV’s new handout titled “Mowing: Best Practices for Monarchs”, provides regional timeframes during which management activities may be less detrimental to local monarch populations. While the document is targeted for mowing best practices, the timing windows are applicable across different management techniques as well. The recommended windows were created based on:
- Avoidance of peak monarch breeding activity in each region based on data from the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project
- Avoidance of peak fall migration events, consistent with Journey North data and Monarch Watch projections
- Adequate time allowance for milkweed regrowth
- Feedback and ground tested recommendations from MJV partners and regional experts
This informational handout is one of many that the MJV offers and they’re great for sharing! Visit our downloads page to view other handouts, and feel free to reach out to us if you have topics in mind for future handouts that MJV and partners may develop.
The content in this article does not necessarily reflect the positions of all Monarch Joint Venture partners. Header photo taken by Karen Oberhauser, 2014.