Stabilizing the eastern, migratory population of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) is expected to require substantial habitat restoration on agricultural land in the core breeding area of the Upper Midwestern U.S. Previous research has considered the potential to utilize marginal land for this purpose because of its low productivity, erodible soils, and high nutrient input requirements. This strategy has strong potential for restoring milkweed (Asclepias spp.), but may be limited in terms of its ability to generate additional biophysical and socioeconomic benefits for local communities. Here we explore the possibility of restoring milkweed via the creation of continuous riparian buffer strips around perennial and intermittent streams throughout the region. We use a GIS-based analysis to consider the potential of several different buffer-width scenarios to meet milkweed restoration targets. We further estimate the ability of these habitat areas to provide additional functionality in the form of crop pollination and water quality regulation across the entire region. Finally, we estimate the conservative economic value of these ecosystem services and compare it with the lost value of crops associated with each scenario. Results suggest that riparian buffers could be used to meet 10-43% of the total milkweed restoration target of 1.3 billion new stems with moderate management. The value of water quality and pollination benefits provided by buffers is estimated to exceed costs only for our smallest buffer-width scenario, with a cost-benefit ratio of 1:2.05. Larger buffer widths provide more milkweed, but costs to farmers exceed the benefits we were able to quantify. The large-scale restoration of multifunctional riparian corridors thus has the potential to add milkweed stems while also providing a variety of other valuable benefits. This suggests the potential to leverage monarch habitat restoration efforts for the benefit of a wider variety of species and a broader coalition of beneficiaries.

Output from programming code written to summarize monarch butterfly abundance from monitoring data acquired using a modified Pollard walk at custom 2017 GRTS draw sites within select monitoring areas (see SOP 2 in ServCat reference 103367 for methods) of FWS Legacy Regions 2 and 3. Areas monitored included Balcones Canyonlands (TX), Hagerman (TX), Washita (OK), Neal Smith (IA), Necedah (WI) NWRs and several locations near the town of Lamoni, Iowa and private lands in northern Missouri.

Output from programming code written to summarize monarch butterfly abundance from monitoring data acquired using a modified Pollard walk at custom 2017 GRTS draw sites within select monitoring areas (see SOP 2 in ServCat reference 103367 for methods) of FWS Legacy Regions 2 and 3. Areas monitored included Balcones Canyonlands (TX), Hagerman (TX), Washita (OK), Neal Smith (IA), Necedah (WI) NWRs and several locations near the town of Lamoni, Iowa and private lands in northern Missouri.

Output from programming code written to summarize 2018 monarch butterfly abundance from monitoring data acquired using a modified Pollard walk at custom 2017 GRTS draw sites within select monitoring areas (see SOP 2 in ServCat reference 103367 for methods) of FWS Legacy Regions 2 and 3. Areas monitored included Balcones Canyonlands (TX), Hagerman (TX), Washita (OK), Neal Smith (IA) NWRs and several locations near the town of Lamoni, Iowa and northern Missouri. Input data file is named 'FWS_2018_MM_SOP2_for_SAS.csv' and is stored in ServCat reference 136485. See SM 5 (ServCat reference 103388) for dictionary of data fields in the input data file.

Output from programming code written to summarize 2018 monarch butterfly abundance from monitoring data acquired using a modified Pollard walk at custom 2017 GRTS draw sites within select monitoring areas (see SOP 2 in ServCat reference 103367 for methods) of FWS Legacy Regions 2 and 3. Areas monitored included Balcones Canyonlands (TX), Hagerman (TX), Washita (OK), Neal Smith (IA) NWRs and several locations near the town of Lamoni, Iowa and northern Missouri. Input data file is named 'FWS_2018_MM_SOP2_for_SAS.csv' and is stored in ServCat reference 136485. See SM 5 (ServCat reference 103388) for dictionary of data fields in the input data file.

Activities meeting the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Restoration initiative are a subset of activities that benefit native plants, and in doing so, benefit pollinators. Activities such as thinning, prescribed fire and other methods of fuel removal, treating invasive species and acres of native plantings can benefit Monarchs. Activities are self-reported by Forest Service Units and are reported when completed. This layer does not contain all activities that benefit Monarchs because this is a relatively new requirement for the program. The quality and comprehensiveness of this data will increase over time. Metadata

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The USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center developed a Monarch Butterfly Relevant Land Cover data set covering the conterminous United States of America. This data set was used primarily to assist in forecasting the number of milkweed stems on the landscape. Milkweed are required by monarch butterflies for reproduction and one possible cause for the decline in monarch butterfly numbers is thought to be the loss of milkweed. We used the Cropland Data Layer 2015 as well as additional spatially explicit information to develop the monarch relevant land cover data set. Additional sources of information included 2014 United States Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program enrollment locations; railroad, power line, and road rights of way; marginal versus productive farmland as determined by the 2012 United States Department of Agriculture National Commodity Cropland Productivity Index; and a characterization of urban versus outside urban environs. Due to the inherent sensitivity of the Conservation Reserve Program and Transmission line data sets, we created this non-sensitive version of the Monarch Butterfly Relevant Land Cover data set for distribution with those two data sets not used in the development.

The USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center developed a Monarch Butterfly Relevant Land Cover data set covering the conterminous United States of America. This data set was used primarily to assist in forecasting the number of milkweed stems on the landscape. Milkweed are required by monarch butterflies for reproduction and one possible cause for the decline in monarch butterfly numbers is thought to be the loss of milkweed. We used the Cropland Data Layer 2015 as well as additional spatially explicit information to develop the monarch relevant land cover data set. Additional sources of information included 2014 United States Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program enrollment locations; railroad, power line, and road rights of way; marginal versus productive farmland as determined by the 2012 United States Department of Agriculture National Commodity Cropland Productivity Index; and a characterization of urban versus outside urban environs. Due to the inherent sensitivity of the Conservation Reserve Program and Transmission line data sets, we created this non-sensitive version of the Monarch Butterfly Relevant Land Cover data set for distribution with those two data sets not used in the development.

This code describes graphical and analytical comparisons between monarch butterfly survey data collected during summer breeding, fall migration, and winter.