Above: Monarch butterflies depend on milkweed like this showy milkweed plant to survive. Credit: Stephanie McKnight / Xerces Society.
This story was shared with permission from KUNR Public Radio. For an audio version of the story, please visit the KUNR website.
AOne reason for monarch butterfly decline is due to a lack of milkweed waystations, which are like truck stops for the iconic orange and black butterflies. Milkweed plants give monarchs a place to rest, refuel and lay eggs on their migration journeys to and from Nevada.
Even though the state is home to 13 species of milkweed, including the popular showy milkweed and narrow-leaved milkweed, there are not enough plants to adequately support monarch populations.
Growing any species of milkweed can reap huge benefits across populations, said Kevin Burls, endangered species conservation biologist with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
“One of the things that I enjoy about working in insect conservation is that plantings in small areas can make a really big difference locally,” Burls said.
This same motivation inspired Julie Koop to start the Nevada Monarch Society in 2016. It is a nonprofit aimed at getting more people to grow native plants that butterflies depend on.
“When you looked at the waystation map, we had very few waystations,” Koop said. “And so I just wanted to change all that, to teach people and to get habitat improved in Nevada.”
The Nevada Monarch Society partners with organizations like the US Forest Service, Comstock Seed and Carson High School to grow milkweed to sell in the spring. However, the plants grow best from seed, especially when planted over winter.
“They sprout better if they even get a little snow cover blanket on them, so we do suggest that people get them in the ground before spring,” Koop said.
Once milkweed starts sprouting, it is important to keep it pesticide-free so monarch caterpillars and butterflies can stay healthy and safe.
Ali Dickson is the 2025 fall intern for KUNR and the Hitchcock Project for Visualizing Science. She is a student in the master’s program at the Reynolds School of Journalism.
