Monarch Butterfly Conservation

The monarch butterfly is one of the most iconic butterflies in North America and is known in part for its annual multi-generational migration from overwintering sites in central Mexico and coastal California to as far north as Canada. Multiple critical population stressors including the loss and degradation of habitat across the species' range have led to a significant decrease in the number of monarchs in the U.S. over the past few decades.

NRCS is working with agricultural producers in the Midwest and southern Great Plains to combat the decline of monarch butterflies by planting milkweed and other nectar-rich plants on private lands. This region, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin, is the core of the monarch’s migration route and breeding habitat.  

Individual farmers, ranchers and non-industrial forest landowners are exactly the audience — but there is no separate monarch application. This is a targeted NRCS initiative that routes you into the standard Farm Bill conservation programs, so their eligibility rules are the ones that bind.

Who: "NRCS offers technical and financial assistance to help landowners manage for monarch habitat on farms, ranches and forests," working "with America's farmers, ranchers, and forest managers on voluntary conservation efforts... on private lands." Private land is the operative category — the work is habitat establishment and management on land you farm or own.

Where: NRCS targets ten states — "Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin" — described as "the core of the monarch's migration route and breeding habitat." Producers outside those states can still do pollinator work through EQIP/CSP, but this initiative's targeting is regional.

What you must be willing to do: plant and manage monarch habitat — "plant milkweed and nectar-rich plants along field borders, in buffers along waterways or around wetlands, in pastures and other suitable locations." Technical assistance is unconditional and free: "Technical assistance is free to producers," with NRCS staff helping write a conservation plan "tailored to the producer's property."

The eligibility that actually gates the money comes from the underlying programs: "WLFW is able to provide technical and financial assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and Conservation Stewardship Program." NRCS's published EQIP eligibility check asks you to bring:

• "An official tax ID (Social Security number or an employer ID)"

• "A property deed or lease agreement to show you have control of the property; and"

• "A farm number" — obtainable from FSA, and "you only need a farm number if you're interested in financial assistance."

Plus conservation compliance: "To maintain eligibility for most USDA programs, producers must comply with wetland conservation provisions."

So: control of the land (owned or leased), a tax ID, an FSA farm number, and HEL/wetland compliance. No acreage minimum, revenue cap, or audience restriction is published — though applications are ranked, not first-come: "NRCS will take a look at the applications and rank them according to local resource concerns, the amount of conservation benefits the work will provide and the needs of applicants."

No deadline: EQIP applications "are accepted throughout the year," with per-state ranking cutoffs. Start at your local NRCS field office.

No payment rate, cost-share percentage, award ceiling, or contract length is published on the NRCS Monarch Butterflies page. This is a conservation initiative that routes producers into existing Farm Bill programs rather than a standalone funding pot.

What is published: "NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to implement these practices." "Technical assistance is free to producers" — NRCS staff and partners help you write a monarch-habitat conservation plan at no cost. Financial assistance flows through the Working Lands for Wildlife partnership, which "is able to provide technical and financial assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and Conservation Stewardship Program, three programs funded through the Farm Bill."

Practically: your payment rate, cap and contract term come from whichever of EQIP, ACEP or CSP you enroll in, and EQIP/CSP payment schedules are set per state and per practice. Check those three program records, or your state NRCS payment schedule, for the actual dollars.

Geography: NRCS targets this work in the Midwest and southern Great Plains — "Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin."

Apply for an EQIP

Applications for EQIP​ financial assistance are accepted throughout the year. Specific deadlines are set for ranking and funding opportunities within each state. The best way to learn if EQIP is a good fit for you is by contacting your local NRCS office. If you choose to move forward, your local NRCS conservationist will guide you through applying for the program.

Applications for conservation practices and systems that will result in greater environmental benefits for national, state, and/or local natural resource priorities will receive a higher score and higher priority to receive an offer for a financial assistance contract.

Once you have chosen the right conservation practices for your land, you may be offered an EQIP contract to receive financial assistance for the cost of implementing certain practices. Payment rates for conservation practices are reviewed and set each fiscal year.

• Monarch Butterfly Conservation on Working Lands PDF

• Working Lands for Monarch Butterflies multimedia story  

• VIDEO: Restoring Monarch Habitat 

• Pollinator Resources from NRCS Plant Materials Centers

• Pollinators Resources from PLANTS Database