The University of Wisconsin (UW)–Madison Arboretum has joined the nationwide conservation cooperative the Monarch Joint Venture (MJV). The first arboretum to partner with the MJV, the UW Arboretum joins more than 70 other partner institutions dedicated to researching monarch butterflies, conserving their habitat, and educating about the charismatic insects.
Arboretum director Karen Oberhauser, a leading monarch researcher, co-founded the MJV while at the University of Minnesota and is currently co-chair of the venture’s steering committee. Arboretum is a natural fit to join the federal and state agencies, nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions that already cooperate to protect the monarchs.
The MJV coordinates efforts by creating a conservation plan each year that partner institutions can then contribute to. They help partners establish pollinator-friendly habitat, provide educational resources and identify threats to monarch populations. The Arboretum works on all areas of the MJV’s conservation plan with the conservation education programs, habitat conservation actions, and research. The new partnership is a formal recognition of efforts already underway at the Arboretum.
