Planting a Bosque for the Butterflies

The City seeks volunteers to help with a special pollinator habitat planting project in the Rio Grande Bosque. The Parks and Recreation Department/Open Space Division (OSD), Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD), Institute for Applied Ecology, and Rocky Mountain Youth Corps are teaming up to plant a pollinator meadow in the Bosque on Saturday, September 28 (see attached map).

"This site in the North Valley immediately came to mind as the perfect location for this," said MRGCD Planner Yasmeen Najmi. "I regularly walk the trail and recognized that with its lush grass meadows and native milkweeds, this would be the perfect launchpad to expand monarch butterfly habitat."

Crews and volunteers will plant 1,500 “plugs” with native perennial plants that are beneficial to monarch butterflies and other pollinators. The plugs have been grown from wild-collected seeds. As these plants mature, OSD plans to harvest wild seeds for further propagation and to start a seed bank.

This planting is part of the broader “River for Monarchs” project, which aims to restore 16 habitat patches that will act as “stepping stones” for a diverse suite of pollinators along the Rio Grande corridor in New Mexico between the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge up to the Taos area. Monarch butterfly populations are declining in the United States and worldwide because of habitat loss. Projects like “River for Monarchs” are working to combat this by creating more habitat for them. For more information about the “River for Monarchs” project, visit: appliedeco.org/river-for-monarchs/

"Climate change and other human-caused habitat loss threatens the survival of the monarch butterfly – one of Earth’s most beautiful species," said Parks & Recreation Department Director Dave Simon. "Butterflies, other pollinators, and birds need our help. This new butterfly habitat will be vital and could influence future bosque restoration."

"We want our kids and future generations to have the same opportunity we’ve had to fully experience and appreciate the natural wonder of the Bosque," said Mayor Tim Keller. "Preserving and promoting the butterfly population along the Rio Grande is one step we can take to protect the Bosque."

To prep for this event, OSD and MRGCD have been selectively removing invasive, non-native tree species in the planting area. Volunteers may choose from two shifts on September 28: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. or 12 noon to 2 p.m. Those interested can learn more and sign up here.

The public can also do more to protect butterflies and pollinator habitat by growing pollinator-friendly plants in their own yards and properties. For more information on planting pollinator-friendly backyard habitat, see:

Burque Bee City USA
ABQ Backyard Refuge