The Friends of Bosque del Apache presided over an open house and grand opening of their Pollinator Habitat Enhancement Project, on the North Tour Loop at the Observation Blind Trail of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
Hundreds of native pollinator-friendly shrubs, milkweed, and wildflowers were planted in this area, hand-watered, and more accessible trails were added.
This project is part of the River for Monarchs initiative, building pollinator-friendly sites along the Rio Grande Corridor to support the migration of the Monarch butterfly.
I asked one of the volunteers, “What single piece of knowledge would you like me to come away with from this event?”, and was gifted with explanations that completely reshaped my understanding of the Monarch. (I have to remember that question for future interactions!)
Monarch butterflies migrate up from Mexico, and when they arrive in this area during the spring, milkweed has not started to flower. But that doesn’t matter, because Monarchs lay their eggs on the leaves of this plant and the caterpillars eat the toxic leaves and then become toxic themselves to predators.
The toxicity of milkweed is why farmers who raise cattle and horses tend to eradicate the plant, so the food source for the Monarch is disappearing, unless we act.