National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Monsanto Announce Commitment to Help Monarch Butterflies
01 April 2015 - 12:00AM
Business Wire
Monsanto Is The First Company To Contribute To The National
Fish And Wildlife Foundation’s Monarch Butterfly Conservation
Fund
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and Monsanto
Company announced today a commitment to partner in support of
NFWF’s Monarch Butterfly Conservation Fund. As the first company to
contribute to NFWF’s Monarch Butterfly Conservation Fund, Monsanto
will provide $3.6 million over three years to match funds provided
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies
that will support habitat restoration, education, outreach and
milkweed seed production to benefit monarch butterflies.
Monarch butterflies are found throughout the United States,
though a majority of the population migrates up to 3,000 miles to
Mexico for the winter months. Over the past 20 years, the North
American monarch population has plunged from 1 billion to less than
60 million, due to many factors, including loss of critical
habitat. These beautiful, black-and-orange insects depend not only
on nectar-producing plants throughout their range, but also
milkweed — the only food source for monarch caterpillars.
In 2015, NFWF established the Monarch Butterfly Conservation
Fund to protect, conserve and increase habitat for these iconic
insects and other pollinators. The fund was designed to leverage
the investments made by federal agencies with additional funding
from other private and public donors, as well as matching resources
from grantees.
“Through its investment in the Monarch Butterfly Conservation
Fund, Monsanto will provide resources that will enable tens of
thousands of Americans to participate in efforts to preserve this
amazing species for generations to come,” said Jeff Trandahl,
executive director and chief executive officer of NFWF. “Our
congressional charter directs us to build partnerships between the
public and private sectors in order to increase funding available
for on-the-ground conservation efforts. This partnership between
Monsanto and NFWF continues our work of bringing all parties to the
table to support vital wildlife conservation efforts.”
Monsanto’s support of the Monarch Butterfly Conservation Fund is
part of the company’s ongoing commitment to work with others to
support important biodiversity initiatives.
“As the number of people on our planet increases, agriculture is
working to sustainably grow more and more food,” said Brett
Begemann, president and chief operating officer of Monsanto.
“Because of the important role agriculture plays in the
environment, Monsanto is committed to working with others to
protect natural habitats and species that share our planet. Our
work with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in this area
represents another important step in that commitment.”
“Saving the monarch butterfly requires us to work together with
public and private partners at a continental scale,” said U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe. “This contribution to the
Monarch Butterfly Conservation Fund will help us address threats to
the monarch and its habitat, while enabling us to get Americans
everywhere involved in creating and sustaining backyard habitat for
the monarch and other vital pollinator species.”
The Monarch Butterfly Conservation Fund focuses on three
priority conservation needs to restore monarch butterflies to a
more robust and healthy population:
- Habitat restoration to plant native
milkweed for caterpillars and nectar plants for adults in both
large, contiguous areas as well as in smaller patches, especially
in edge habitat along the butterfly’s migration route
- Outreach and education in urban and
rural communities, with a focus on youth engagement
- Native seed production and distribution
to increase production and availability of seeds and plants
essential to habitat restoration
To learn more about the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s
work on monarchs, visit www.nfwf.org/monarch.
In addition to its commitment to NFWF’s Monarch Butterfly
Conservation Fund, Monsanto will provide approximately $400,000 in
grants to other organizations working to protect biodiversity
through both immediate and long-term actions.
Beyond those funding commitments, Monsanto also encourages a
diverse group of public and private sector stakeholders to fully
participate in the Keystone Policy Center Monarch Butterfly
Collaborative – an effort to connect the agriculture supply chain
with conservationists, farmers, scientists and landscape
professionals from across the country to coordinate and scale
solutions to the challenges facing monarchs and other
pollinators.
To learn more about Monsanto’s work to expand, protect and
conserve biodiversity and natural resources, please visit
http://monsanto.info/sustainability.
To learn more about monarchs, visit
http://www.fws.gov/savethemonarch/.
About the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) protects and
restores our nation’s wildlife and habitats. Chartered by Congress
in 1984, NFWF directs public conservation dollars to the most
pressing environmental needs and matches those investments with
private contributions. NFWF works with government, nonprofit and
corporate partners to find solutions for the most intractable
conservation challenges. Over the last three decades, NFWF has
funded more than 4,000 organizations and committed more than $2.9
billion to conservation projects. Learn more at www.nfwf.org.
About Monsanto Company
Monsanto is committed to bringing a broad range of solutions to
help nourish our growing world. We produce seeds for fruits,
vegetables and key crops – such as corn, soybeans, and cotton –
that help farmers have better harvests while using water and other
important resources more efficiently. We work to find sustainable
solutions for soil health, help farmers use data to improve farming
practices and conserve natural resources, and provide crop
protection products to minimize damage from pests and disease.
Through programs and partnerships, we collaborate with farmers,
researchers, nonprofit organizations, universities and others to
help tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. To learn more
about Monsanto, our commitments and our more than 20,000 dedicated
employees, please visit: discover.monsanto.com and monsanto.com.
Follow our business on Twitter® at twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on the
company blog, Beyond the Rows® at monsantoblog.com or subscribe to
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National Fish and Wildlife FoundationRob Blumenthal,
202-857-0166orMonsantoBilly Brennan, 314-694-3665