Since 2021, the Monarch Joint Venture has partnered with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to monitor pollinator habitat across California using the Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program (IMMP). Building on this foundation, our current project, Pollinator Habitat and a Changing Climate: Long-Term Monitoring on BLM Lands (L22AS00213), is establishing long-term monitoring plots in areas with known monarch habitat and collecting baseline data over 3 years (2023–2025). These efforts are helping us better understand western monarch populations and guide conservation practices that support pollinators across public lands.
IMMP surveys take place across California’s diverse landscapes, covering all 13 primary ecoregions and filling important data gaps in places that have historically been understudied. In 2024 alone, MJV technicians documented more than 9,000 milkweed plants and over 34,700 stems within BLM survey plots. Explore the story maps below to follow their journeys and see what they discovered in the field.
As part of this project, Red Boot Ecology is leading seedling establishment trials for Asclepias cordifolia, an early-emerging milkweed species that has long been challenging to grow. These trials compare direct seeding and container planting methods to develop best practices for using A. cordifolia in future restoration efforts.
