Check out a Daily Republic article about our current efforts to create Monarch habitat
SRCD working on metamorphosis of land to monarch habitat
Todd R. Hansen
VACAVILLE — The rains have returned to Solano County, and with them, soggy ground.
That could force a delay in seeding property near the Nut Tree Airport for development of monarch butterfly and pollinator habitat – that is unless the Solano Resource Conservation District can get permission to fly.
"Because the ground is going to be too wet, we are exploring using a drone seeder," Sarah McKibbin, habit restoration program manager for the resource conservation district, said in a phone interview.
The property belongs to Solano County. The work is scheduled for Wednesday, weather permitting.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a 10-year right-of-entry agreement for the property. The county reported that due to the land's proximity to the airport, there is no foreseeable county use.
This is just the latest SRCD project to enhance the monarch butterfly population coming through Solano County.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently proposed to list the iconic, migrating species as threatened. Scientists argue the species is on the decline. Some estimates put that at a 95% loss.
The conservation district received a four-year, $900,000 Wildlife Conservation Board grant in February 2023, part of $23 million that was awarded to 45 agencies. SRCD is using part of the grant to help develop the airport-area project and other similar habitats. Among the work was a project at the Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District.
The group will be enhancing about 3,000 feet of trail at the Benicia State Recreation Area.
It also paid for this past summer's Bay Area Butterfly Festival, and will fund the next festival on June 1 at the Mare Island Promenade. The festivals were not part of the original grant budget, so SRCD has had to adjust its plans.
"That's still evolving. We have not identified all the sites, yet," said McKibbin, adding that the grant runs out in April 2027.
One approach the conservation district is using is to have area residents develop their own backyard monarch habitats. It requires as little as 100 square feet, and benefits more than the butterfly.
"I came up with the idea of the Monarch Waystation Kits," McKibbon said.
The kits contain a mix of flowering plants to nurture both monarch butterflies and caterpillars, including 12 milkweed plants for monarch caterpillars to feed and pupate on, and 24 flowering plants that provide nectar for the adult butterflies.
The district has been selling the kits at a host of events, including its native plant sales. The goal is to get 400 kits into the hands of Solano County residents.
"I would say we are about halfway there, not 200 yet, probably 170 or 175," McKibbin said.
Now McKibbin is exploring another avenue, connecting with schools in partnership with the Willis Linn Jepson Chapter of the California Native Plant Society.
"They are working with the schools and I said we have these waystation kits," McKibbin said.