U.S. agency pledges $20 million to save monarch butterfly
![A monarch butterfly](https://img.apmcdn.org/37ce6c821a4daa69ffd9f2a8dacdbb4d3f237766/uncropped/7d75aa-20130709-monarch1.jpg)
Like this?
Log in to share your opinion with MPR News and add it to your profile.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday it will spend $20 million dollars over the next five years to help boost monarch butterfly populations.
The number of monarch butterflies has declined by about 90 percent during the last two decades.
Director Dan Ashe told MPR News host Tom Weber that the agency will be using some of the funds to build up the butterflies' habitat in the Midwest.
"Conservation on the local scale matters, so when someone plants milkweed in their backyard, schoolyard, state park, local park, national wildlife refuge, it makes a difference," he said.
The monarchs are known for their long migration across North America.
Ashe says his agency is cooperating with authorities in Canada and Mexico to ensure adequate habitat across the butterflies' long range.
Support the News you Need
Gifts from individuals keep MPR News accessible to all - free of paywalls and barriers.