City of Madison Earns 2023 Leadership Circle Recognition with National Monarch Pledge 

The City of Madison is proud to continue its dedication to the Monarch butterfly community and pollinator conservation in southcentral Wisconsin as a part of the National Wildlife Federation Mayors’ Monarch Pledge Team. 

The NWF Mayor’s Monarch Pledge Team recognized the City of Madison as part of the leadership circle for 2023.  

“We consider ourselves leaders in enhancing our use of public green space to include not just recreation or utilitarian function, but also wildlife habitat and refuge. Supporting monarch conservation fits right in with these visions and also supports the explicitly stated goals of the Pollinator Protection Task Force and our general sustainability goals,” City of Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said.  

City’s Impact on Monarch Community 

In 2023, the City created 10 acres of monarch butterfly habitat in the City of Madison. Habitats are being created on medians, stormwater land (greenways, retention ponds etc.), general parkland, vacant lots and at municipal buildings (Madison Municipal Building, Monona Terrace Events Center). 

The City has dedicated a number of resources toward supporting the monarch community, and while the pledge has “monarch” in the name, the initiative is meant to conserve and educate on all pollinators. 

The City does a number of things to support our monarch and pollinator communities: 

• Plants native plants including beneficial nectar plants on park land, stormwater land and other public land 
• Requires stormwater land in new developments to be planted with native plants 
• Provides educational events and resources for residents through partnerships with Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Dane County Land & Water Resources and other community partners 
• Leads native seed collections each fall, and returning native seed back to public land to improve site plant diversity 
• Works with integral community partners like Operation Fresh Start, neighborhood associations and City volunteers to maintain green spaces 
• Creates guides to rain garden installation, native plant selection and invasive species control for volunteers 
• Emphasizes the importance of planting milkweed, the larval host plant for monarch butterflies.  Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) or whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) are required to be included in new terrace rain gardens and on newly developed stormwater land  
• Hosts invasive species removal programs, which includes thousands of hours monitoring and removing invasive species on public land 
• Engineering and Parks dedicates specific staff to these efforts proving a long-term dedication to supporting pollinator conservation in Madison 

Monarch and pollinator conservation is an inter-agency effort.  The Engineering Division Stormwater Utility (SWU) pursues ecological restoration across much of its 1,500+ acres of stormwater land. The Parks Division owns nearly 6,000 acres of land, with acres of managed meadows throughout the park system and more than 20 conservation parks that feature large tracts of land in natural communities such as marshes, prairies, savannas and woodlands.  Olbrich Botanical Gardens features native plant gardens, and hosts a variety of pollinator friendly gardening courses and events throughout the year.  Monona Terrace maintains rooftop native plantings that showcase the ornamental properties of native plants.