Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

Save the Monarchs

More than 7,600 people have taken the MWRD pledge to help save monarch butterflies. Take the pledge today. Together we can help the monarchs thrive!

#SavetheMonarchs #ILMonarchProject #PledgePlantPost

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) continues its partnership with the Illinois Monarch Project to help save monarch butterflies. The Illinois Monarch Project encourages the public to address conservation and engage public and private landowners to protect the butterflies from becoming extinct. New studies suggest that monarch butterfly populations have rapidly declined due to habitat loss and climate change, resulting from development, poor land management practices, illegal logging and heavy reliance on pesticides and herbicides in the United States and Canada. Milkweed is the sole source of food for monarch caterpillars. We encourage the public to plant milkweed to help expand their habitat, which is essential to their life cycle. Taking action now will preserve future and current monarch generations.

As the regional authority for stormwater management, the MWRD has invested in native prairie landscaping across its land.

The goal of the Illinois Monarch Project is to add 150 million new stems of milkweed embedded in diverse nectar-producing plants by 2038.

The Role of Native Plants

In addition to providing food and habitat for monarch butterflies and other species, native plants such as milkweed have extensive root systems. They can help reduce flooding and improve water quality. Native plants also reduce runoff, which can enter the sewer system and contribute to basement backups and sewer overflows to rivers and streams. Planting milkweed and other native plants is a great way to help protect your home from flooding, provide habitat for wildlife, and prevent water pollution. For more information about native landscaping see The Green Neighbor Guide.

Free Milkweed Seeds

Take our online pledge to help save the monarchs. While supplies last, we will send you a complimentary packet of milkweed seeds (available to Cook County residents only) when you complete and submit your pledge. Your support is greatly needed and appreciated. Join us in our efforts by planting milkweed.

Be sure to provide your complete first and last name, mailing address (including zip code) and email address. Please allow two – three weeks for processing and delivery. Once you receive your packet, follow the directions, located on the back cover, for preparing your seeds before you plant them. Collectively, we can replenish the monarch butterfly’s habitat!

WARNING. Harmful if ingested. Keep out of reach of children and pets.

MWRD Certified Monarch Waystation

In 2021, the MWRD received certification for our first monarch butterfly waystation at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant (WRP). Learn more about this initiative in the dropdown menu below.

MWRD Waystation

Creating and maintaining a monarch waystation contributes to monarch conservation and helps to assure the continuation of the monarch migration in North America. We have identified multiple locations at our Stickney plant where recently planted milkweed and nectar plants are flourishing to support a thriving, sunlit, and sheltered location for the monarch butterflies. We are examining the potential for additional waystations at our other facilities.

The waystations are the next step in our commitment to the Illinois Monarch Project.

The Illinois Monarch Project has a wonderful publication that highlights the plight of the monarch butterfly, explains the importance of milkweed for its reproductive cycle, and offers a wealth of additional information to help you better understand the significance of the public support needed to help save the butterfly from becoming extinct.
Visit here to learn more.
The monarch butterfly, like other insects, has several life forms and stages prior to reaching adulthood. The monarch has four distinct life stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult. Source: U.S. Forest Service For more information click here.
Most monarchs will live only a few weeks, but the generation that emerges in late summer and early fall is different. These butterflies are born to travel and may live for eight or nine months to accomplish their lengthy migration. Scientists think the monarchs use the position of the sun and the changing weather to know when it’s time for their long journey.
Source: National Park Service. Visit here to learn more.
Cook County is part of the monarch butterfly’s annual migration route from Mexico to Canada, providing a stopover or visit to native milkweed species. In 1975, Illinois designated the iconic monarch butterfly as the official state insect after the idea was suggested by third graders from Decatur. Learn more at Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Click here for more information.
The Monarch Joint Venture (MJV) brings together partners from across the U.S. in a unified effort to conserve the monarch migration. These actions are organized in an annually updated Monarch Conservation Implementation Plan, which serves as a framework to guide conservation planning for individuals, partners, or other interested stakeholders nationally. Source: U.S. Forest Service. Click here for more information.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), monarch butterflies also serve as pollinators supporting natural ecosystems. as well as for human food production, and pheasant, quail, waterfowl and many other species.
The USFWS has developed a database to capture information about ongoing and planned conservation efforts for the monarch butterfly. Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Visit here for more information.
The annual migration of North America’s monarch butterfly is a unique and amazing phenomenon. The monarch is the only butterfly known to make a two-way migration as birds do. Unlike other butterflies that can overwinter as larvae, pupae, or even as adults in some species, monarchs cannot survive the cold winters of northern climates. Using environmental cues, the monarchs know when it is time to travel south for the winter. Monarchs use a combination of air currents and thermals to travel long distances. Some fly as far as 3,000 miles to reach their winter home! Source: U.S. Forest Service. Visit here for more information.
Illinois Green Economy Network (IGEN) has an Illinois Community College Monarch Migration Network to help save the monarch butterfly. According to IGEN, the network is committed to modeling monarch conservation on college campuses by creating habitat, educating students and the public, and forming partnerships to help the butterflies flourish.
National parks are taking various actions to support monarchs, and milkweed is a key tool in their fight. Learn more at National Park Service.
The Field Museum Keller Science Action Center asks community scientists from across the Chicago region to document the survivorship of monarch butterfly caterpillars on milkweed plants around their community. Learn how to help by clicking here.