Celebrating Wildflowers News 2020
April 2020
More than Monarchs: Biomimicry
Posted May 21, 2020
The natural world has much to teach us about technological innovation. (Photo by Amber Barnes).
Why monarchs? While monarchs are intrinsically important, conserving monarchs matters for more than just their own protection. We’re exploring the ways that monarch habitat and conservation helps people, other wildlife and the environment in this ‘More than Monarchs’ series! Read more…
Post-Fire Native Species Seed Mixes Are Effective at Keeping Out Cheatgrass in the Great Basin
Posted April 29, 2020
After 16 years, little cheatgrass can be seen in a plot planted with native seed mixes. (photo: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Range Trend Crew).
Post-fire native seed mixes keep out cheatgrass in the Great Basin. Seeding an area after a fire has long been used to control erosion and suppress problem invasive grasses like cheatgrass. But for managers, choosing the right seed mix to use can be tricky. Seed mixes containing only native species are ideal for areas where natural vegetation recovery is a long-term objective, but there is a question of both cost and whether native species will be as effective as nonnatives in outcompeting invasive species. Read more…
Posted April 21, 2020
During this “new normal”, WHC is offering nature-based educational webinars for parents and kids (K-8) to learn and enjoy together. Click here for more webinars.
Pollinators like butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds are a very important part of ecosystems all over the world. Join our friends from the Arizona Science Center to find out about the pollinators that exist all around us and what kinds of activities you can do to learn more about them.
This webinar is available to anyone. Check out the Wildlife Habitat Council website for more…
More Than Monarchs: Understanding Traditions linked to Monarch Butterflies
Posted April 20, 2020
The ofrenda tradition from Mexico has been carried to the United States and Canada by Mexican immigrants. Pictured above is an ofrenda at the J.S. Morton High School Freshman Center in Cicero, IL that Mexican-American students created to celebrate life and culture.
The conservation of the monarch butterfly is a theme that unites many “knowledges” and ways of understanding the world. This butterfly is probably the most iconic insect across North America and faces survival challenges along its migratory route through Canada, the United States and Mexico. Its impressive migration and the risk of its disappearance are what unites these knowledges of different origins. Here, we will talk about the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) linked to Mexico, which is the overwintering habitat of the eastern monarch population
Check out the full article by Columba Gonzalez, PhD (Desplácese hacia abajo para leer en Español)…
Learning Resources for Educators and Kids During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Posted April 10, 2020
An image of the COVID-19 virus that causes Coronavirus Disease
The Forest Service is taking the risks presented by COVID-19 seriously and is following USDA and CDC public health guidance as we continue to offer services to the public. We encourage you to take the opportunity to learn more about plants and their pollinators here on the Celebrating Wildflowers website and check out other Forest Service resources for educators and kids, especially during this difficult period of stay-at-home orders and limited activities for children.
Visitors to our National Forests and Grasslands are urged to take the precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There are three official, government-wide sources of up-to-date information about the coronavirus: Coronavirus.gov, CDC.gov/coronavirus, and USA.gov/coronavirus.
Check out the Forest Service Coronavirus (Covid-19) Updates webpage…
January 2020
Announcing the 2020 Monarch Conservation Webinar Series!
Posted January 23, 2020
Photo of a monarch butterfly sitting on a person's hand. License: CC0 Public Domain
MJV and NCTC are pleased to announce the lineup for our 2020 Monarch Conservation Webinar Series! The Monarch Joint Venture is partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center to put on another year full of informative and inspiring webinars on all things monarch.
Read more and check out the webinar titles and dates…
Thanksgiving Count Shows Western Monarchs Need Our Help More than Ever
Posted January 23, 2020
Closeup of adult monarch butterflies congregating on a branch. Photo by Denise Gibbs.
The results from this season's Xerces Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count are out! Fewer than 30,000 monarchs were counted — 29,418 to be exact — for the second year in a row, so the population remains at a critical level. For decades, monarchs in the West have been in decline because of loss of habitat, including destruction of their California overwintering sites and loss of both milkweed for caterpillars and flowering resources to fuel migration. They are also impacted by climate change and pesticide use.