Monarch Joint Venture Media Contact
The Monarch Joint Venture (MJV) is thrilled to announce the recent award of a $25,000 Environmental Action Grant from NIPSCO and the NiSource Charitable Foundation to support pollinator conservation efforts in Northern Indiana. Now in its tenth year, the Environmental Action Grant program has provided nearly $700,000 to fund 169 environmental projects throughout the region. This year, MJV is proud to be one of 26 grantees selected to lead impactful, community-focused restoration and education initiatives.
This significant grant marks the second year of our partnership with NIPSCO in restoring prairie habitat in Indiana and building momentum for monarch and pollinator conservation in the state. In 2024, NIPSCO’s support helped transform 16 acres at Cedar Swamp Wetland Conservation Area. With continued support from this year’s grant, NIPSCO, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and MJV are scaling our collective impact by establishing 65 acres of native prairie pollinator habitat across four additional high-priority sites:
- Reynolds Creek Gamebird Habitat Area (15 acres)
Builds on ongoing prairie restoration in a key wildlife corridor.
- Pisgah Marsh Wildlife Management Area (30 acres)
Expands a highly visited habitat used for education and community science.
- Willow Slough Fish & Wildlife Area (15 acres)
Supports a large-scale, multi-year prairie and savanna restoration.
- Hammond Right-of-Ways (5 acres)
Converts urban turf to pollinator habitat in a highly visible community corridor.
These sites are part of broader land management goals set by the Indiana DNR, with MJV providing technical expertise, seed mix selection, and communications support. The result will be resilient, biodiverse prairie systems that benefit monarchs, other pollinators, and wildlife while providing local communities with opportunities to participate in stewardship and conservation science.
Building on Volunteer Momentum
The new grant will also support four monarch tagging events in September 2025 at three of the project sites, as part of Charity of Choice, NIPSCO’s volunteer campaign that aims to log over 1,250 service hours in a single month. Through its Dollars for Doers program, NIPSCO and the NiSource Charitable Foundation recognize employee volunteerism by awarding donations or service grants to nonprofits based on employee volunteer hours.
These upcoming events build on the success of the 2024 campaign, when NIPSCO employees teamed up with MJV and the Indiana DNR at Pisgah Marsh for a hands-on monarch tagging event. Volunteers learned about monarch migration and land management while contributing to international research through mark-and-recapture science.
Creating Habitat, Empowering Communities
From rural marshes to urban right-of-ways, this year’s sites are uniquely positioned to demonstrate the value of integrating pollinator habitat into diverse landscapes. Each location contributes to broader ecological goals, including:
Improved biodiversity and ecosystem resilience
Support for at-risk species like the monarch butterfly
Enhanced public spaces and green corridors
Education and engagement opportunities for communities
MJV will continue collaborating with the Indiana DNR to manage site preparation and planting, while NIPSCO’s environmental team provides support through seed credits and ongoing stewardship. This partnership exemplifies how cross-sector collaboration can make a lasting impact.
The Monarch Joint Venture is grateful to NIPSCO and the NiSource Charitable Foundation for their continued investment in a healthier, more biodiverse future, and is thrilled to expand this work across even more of Northern Indiana.