Building ‘Bed & Breakfasts’ for Monarch along rural roads (and other rights-of-way)

milkweed species that Monarch larvae need as a host plant; and nectaring wildflowers that Monarch and other pollinators need for food and breeding grounds such as Joe Pye weed, goldenrod, aster, and liatris.

Monarch populations have declined steeply and both scientists and conservationists tend to agree that the decline can be attributed to a combination of threats, but one of the most significant is the loss of native, wildflower-rich habitat along their breeding and migration route.

When Carolyn Callaghan, Senior Wildlife Biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Federation, sat down to find a meaningful way to help restore Monarch habitat in Ontario, she realized that rights-of-way were a hotbed of potential, from a number of angles.

“The scale is almost unimaginable, and the potential is massive,” said Carolyn. “There are more than 1.4 million kilometers of rural roadways in Canada and hundreds of thousands of kilometers of energy corridors. These are linear spaces and, in many cases in Ontario, hydro lines also happen to point south, which aligns with the Monarch migration path.”

Historically, the vegetation in these areas was managed by clear-cutting, mowing, or spraying with herbicides throughout the growing season. While public safety was a major factor behind these practices, it did not support wildlife and contributed to local biodiversity declines. Instead, the Rights-of-Way project is building a community of land managers and educating them about the benefits of stewarding their land in a way that benefits biodiversity while also maintaining public safety.

“Rights-of-way are already being managed in ways that can easily translate into meadow restoration, with a few subtle changes that can have significant outcomes,” Carolyn continued. “By providing technical advice, training, and funding support to rights-of-way land managers, we’re giving them the knowledge, skills, and autonomy to continue this important work into the future.”

Since 2020, partners have worked together to restore more than 692 hectares of pollinator meadow in eastern Ontario, and 29 hectares in southwestern Ontario since 2021.

“Monarch is what we call an ‘umbrella species’,” said Elisabeth Shapiro, Species at Risk Biologist, Canadian Wildlife Service, a branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada. “That means the stewardship and conservation work we do for them also benefits other pollinators, like bees, flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, and other insects, as well as the many birds who live in meadows and rely on insects for their food. By improving or creating native meadow habitats for Monarch, our partners are also positively affecting biodiversity overall, for the area.”

This work has a number of positive benefits. It not only restores vital Monarch habitat and benefits biodiversity, but wildflowers have deep root systems, allowing them to store more carbon than turf grass, and when these areas no longer need to be mowed, less carbon is emitted into the atmosphere. Some sites have also doubled as public parks or recreational trails that bring people closer to nature and promote active and healthy lifestyles.

It’s the epitome of a win-win situation!

“There is so much untapped potential here for us to help the natural world restore itself. At this point, we’re really just scratching the surface,” said Carolyn. “Insects have the ability to recover quicker than other species with longer lifecycles. If we are able to scale up this work, I’m confident things will look much better for Monarch in Canada in ten years.”

By working together with partners, we are aiming to reverse the downward Monarch population trends. Supporting this project, and transforming the mainstream approach to land management in rights-of-ways, is one example of how the Government of Canada is helping to make a difference for Monarch—and in turn—helping to address the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.