Government pledges millions to save the monarch butterfly

The monarch butterfly population has dwindled from an estimated 1 billion in the 1990s to just 35 million in 2014, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and two conservation groups are coming together to stop the decline.

The decrease is likely due to a loss of milkweed, the monarch caterpillar's only food source, and conversion of the butterfly's native short and tallgrass prairie habitat to crop production, CBS News reports. "We can save the monarch butterfly in North American but only if we act quickly and together," said Dan Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "And that is why we are excited to be working with the National Wildlife Federation and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to engage Americans everywhere, from schools and community groups to corporations and governments, in protecting and restoring habitat."

In all, $2 million will be spent to plant milkweed across the United States, protect monarch habitat from being converted to farmland, and build more than 750 habitats and pollinator gardens in schools. "Together, we will make sure that the monarch continues to be a welcome sight across America," Ashe said. —Catherine Garcia

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