8.1. SR 10-17-2016Request for Action
To Item Number
Mayor and City Council 8.1
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
General Business October 17, 2016 Kristin Mroz, Environmental Technician
Item Description Reviewed by
Mayor Monarch Pledge Suzanne Fischer, Director COD
Reviewed by
Cal Portner, City Administrator
Action Requested
Approve, by motion, the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge (MMP).
Background/Discussion
Great River Energy (GRE) is restoring 9 acres of turf grass to native pollinator habitat at the Energy
Recovery Station. The purpose of this action is to increase habitat for the Monarch butterfly. GRE is
making progress on the project and will provide an overview of the project status and a timeline for
completion. GRE requested the Mayor consider signing the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge to further the work
that the city has already completed and in support of others.
The National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) Mayors Monarch Pledge challenges communities to take
action to help save the Monarch butterfly, an iconic species whose populations have declined by 90% in
the last 20 years. Through the NWF’s Mayor’s Monarch Pledge, cities and municipalities are committing
to create habitat and educate citizens on how they can make a positive difference at home.
Mayors are asked to sign the pledge, specify actions that have and will take, execute those actions, and
report progress. To date, Mayors from Bemidji, Brooklyn Park, Dassel, Duluth, Falcon Heights, Lilydale,
North Branch, North Mankato, St. Paul, and Savage have taken the pledge.
Financial Impact
None
Attachments
NWF MMP Fact Sheet
Mayor’s Monarch Pledge Action Items
Resolution
Creating Monarch Butterfly Habitat in
Communities Nationwide
Mayors and other local government chief executives are taking action to help
save the monarch butterfly, an iconic species whose populations have declined by
90% in the last 20 years. Through the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors'
Monarch Pledge, cities and municipalities are committing to create habitat and
educate citizens about how they can make a difference at home. There are four
steps to taking and implementing the pledge.
Take the Pledge
By taking the Mayors' Monarch Pledge, you are committing to both restore hab-
itat in your community and encourage your citizens to do the same. Read
the Mayors' Monarch Pledge and then take the pledge online!
Specify Your Actions
We will follow up with the point person specified in the online pledge form and
work to identify at least 3 specific actions that your community will take in the
next year. Mayors who decide to take 8 or more actions will receive special
recognition and become a member of the Mayors' Monarch Pledge Leadership
Circle. Once these specific actions have been identified, communities will
report their progress through a simple online survey form. Read the Mayors'
Monarch Pledge Action Items and then specify which actions you will take.
Take Action
Once you have taken the pledge and specified which actions your community
will take over the next year, it’s time to start taking action! Over the next sev-
eral months, NWF will be sharing best practices for cities and municipalities
through our online resources page, occasional email updates, social media, and
webinars. Please refer to our resources page for more details.
Report Progress
Once you have specified your actions and begun to take action we will ask com-
munities to fill out a simple reporting form on a quarterly basis. The reporting
process will only take about 5 minutes and the data we collect will allow us to
track the collective outcomes and impact of our work.
NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION®
Monarch
MAYORS’
Mayors’ Monarch Pledge
www.nwf.org/MayorsMonarchPledge
MayorsMonarchPledge@nwf.org
PLEDGE
Mayors’ Monarch Pledge Action Items
Mayors and local government chief executives who have taken the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge must
commit to implement at least three of the 25 following action items within a year of taking the pledge.
At least one action must be taken from the “Program & Demonstration Gardens” section. Mayors and
local government chief executives taking more than eight actions will receive special recognition as part
of the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Leadership Circle. NWF will follow up with all
mayoral points of contact with a quarterly survey (1/1, 4/1, 7/1, 10/1) to monitor progress. Please visit
www.nwf.org/mayorsmonarchpledge to take the pledge and access resources.
Communications & Convening:
1) Issue a Proclamation to raise awareness about the decline of the monarch butterfly and the
species’ need for habitat.
2) Launch a public communication effort to encourage citizens to plant monarch gardens at their
homes or in their neighborhoods.
3) Communicate with community garden groups and urge them to plant native milkweeds and
nectar-producing plants.
4) Convene city park and public works department staff and identify opportunities for revised
mowing programs and milkweed / native nectar plant planting programs.
5) Convene a meeting with gardening leaders in the community to discuss partnerships to support
monarch butterfly conservation.
Program & Demonstration Gardens:
6) Host or support a native plant sale or milkweed seed giveaway event.
7) Facilitate or support a milkweed seed collection and propagation effort.
8) Plant a monarch-friendly demonstration garden at City Hall or another prominent location.
9) Convert abandoned lots to monarch habitat.
10) Plant milkweed and native nectar plants in medians and public rights-of-way.
11) Launch a program to plant native milkweeds and nectar plants in school gardens by engaging
students, teachers and the community.
12) Earn recognition for being a wildlife-friendly city by expanding your action plan to include other
wildlife and habitat conservation efforts through a program like the NWF Community Wildlife
Habitat program
13) Create a monarch neighborhood challenge to engage neighborhoods and homeowners’
associations within the city to create habitat for the monarch butterfly.
14) Initiate or support citizen-science efforts that help monitor monarch migration and health.
15) Add milkweed and nectar producing plants in community gardens.
16) Expand invasive species removal programs to make it possible to re-establish native milkweed
and nectar plants to the landscape.
17) Host or support a city monarch butterfly festival.
Systems Change:
18) Remove milkweed from the list of noxious plants in city weed / landscaping ordinances (if
applicable).
19) Change weed or mowing ordinances to allow for native prairie and plant habitats.
20) Increase the percentage of native plants, shrubs and trees that must be used in city landscaping
ordinances and encourage use of milkweed where appropriate.
21) Direct city property managers to consider the use of native milkweed and nectar plants at city
properties where appropriate.
22) Integrate monarch butterfly conservation into the city’s Park Master Plan, Sustainability Plan,
Climate Resiliency Plan or other city plans.
23) Change landscape ordinances to support integrated pest management and reduced use of
pesticides and insecticides.
24) Adopt pesticides practices that are not harmful to pollinators.
25) California Specific: Pass a resolution to protect over-wintering monarch butterfly habitat on
public and private lands.
Resolution 16-____
A Resolution of the City of Elk River for the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge by the
National Wildlife Federation.
WHEREAS, Mayors and other local government chief executives are taking action to help
save the Monarch butterfly, an iconic species whose populations have declined by 90% in
the last 20 years; and
WHEREAS, through the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayor’s Monarch Pledge, cities
and municipalities are committing to create habitat and educate citizens about how they can
make a difference at home; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor is committing to both restore habitat in your community and
encourage citizens to do the same by signing the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Elk
River, Minnesota, as follows: The Mayor signs the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge.
th
Passed and adopted this 17 day of October, 2016.
John J. Dietz, Mayor
ATTEST:
Tina Allard, City Clerk