Each autumn, eastern monarch butterflies return to Illinois, dotting harvest-ready fields and cornflower blue skies with their iconic, graceful orange and black as they make their long journey back to their winter home in Mexico. Over the past decade, monarchs have become a much rarer sight in Illinois and across the Midwest as eastern monarch populations have plummeted by as much as 80% by some counts. Monarch butterflies rely on various species of milkweed during their 3000 mile migration each year from Mexico across the Midwestern U.S. to Canada, reproducing in multiple generations before a final generation makes its way back south to overwinter in Mexico and begin the cycle anew. Milkweed and other native flowers that monarchs need to sustain their populations are in decline due to habitat fragmentation and aggressive weeding.
Press Releases
Press Release: A Landmark for Clean Water
American Rivers * Clean Water Action * Environment America * Natural Resources Defense Council * League of Conservation Voters * Prairie Rivers Network * River Network * Sierra Club FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Michael Kelly, 202.393.5449, mkelly@cleanwater.org Washington (August 28, 2015) – A coalition of conservation groups today said they are mobilizing their millions of members […]
Press Release – New Poll: Hunters and Anglers Nationwide Support the EPA’s Clean Water Rule
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 22, 2015 New Poll: Hunters and Anglers Nationwide Support the EPA’s Clean Water Rule Sportsmen and women across the political spectrum support protecting smaller streams and wetlands Washington—A new nationwide, bipartisan survey found broad support among hunters and anglers for applying Clean Water Act protections to smaller streams and wetlands. “As […]
Water advocates, Illinois businesses applaud release of EPA’s Clean Water Rule
For Immediate Release May 27, 2015 Water advocates, Illinois businesses applaud release of EPA’s Clean Water Rule ILLINOIS – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized the Clean Water Rule, providing Clean Water Act protections for many streams, wetlands, and other bodies of water that are critical to our health, […]
State Strategy Falls Flat as Overload of Nutrients Harms Illinois Waters
CHAMPAIGN, IL — Yesterday’s release of the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture importantly recognizes one of the state’s most serious water pollution problems: Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from farms and sewage treatment plants harming Illinois waters and contributing to the dead zone in the Gulf of […]
