We are pleased to share that the Nevada Division of Natural Heritage (NDNH) has joined the MJV partner network! A long-time collaborator with the MJV, NDNH maintains biodiversity data for Nevada’s at-risk plants and animals to support informed land use and conservation planning decisions. NDNH formed the Nevada Monarch Collaborative in 2019 to help facilitate and organize conservation goals and actions that will support the Western Monarch Butterfly Conservation Plan.
NDNH is one of the only state agencies in Nevada working on monarch butterfly conservation, filling a gap in data and conservation efforts when it comes to the western population of monarch butterflies. NDNH partners with universities and non-profit organizations to conduct field surveys for rare butterflies including monarchs, and actively seeks out data on monarch butterfly observations and breeding locations to populate a GIS database. The idea to form the Nevada Monarch Collaborative was inspired by their attendance at the 2019 MJV annual partner meeting and shows their strong desire and commitment to western monarch conservation. The effort is 35 members strong and includes individuals from state and federal agencies, academia, non-governmental organizations, and the public. NDNH also participates in working groups with other agencies and organizations, lending their expertise and knowledge to the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Western Monarch and Native Insect Pollinator working group and the Nevada Department of Transportation Monarch Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances working group.
The state of Nevada is an important piece of the western monarch puzzle, and partnering with NDNH provides a conduit of Nevada-based information to the MJV and our partners. The staff at NDNH focus on a wide range of plant and animal taxa, which can make it challenging to focus on a single species. By partnering with the MJV and our network, NDNH will be able to tap into the expertise of the MJV staff and their broader network to bolster education and outreach efforts, putting valuable resources and up-to-date research at their fingertips. To learn more about NDNH and the Nevada Monarch Collaborative, please visit heritage.nv.gov.
The Monarch Joint Venture is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and a national partnership of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, businesses 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 courtesy of Nevada Division of Natural Heritage.