TxDOT was recognized recently for efforts to support monarch butterflies in their semi-annual migration travels. At the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) Fall Symposium on Nov. 4, 2017, TxDOT received the Native Star Award, bestowed for a specific act of conservation or public service performed by an organization or agency in the field of Texas native plants. TxDOT was also presented with a second award for their winning video entry, Perpetuating Pollinators, in the annual video contest.
Last year, TxDOT joined forces with the Native Plant Society of Texas and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USF&W) Service to convert landscaping areas into monarch waystations at TxDOT's safety rest areas along Interstate 35. The rest areas in the Waco District were the first to undergo the transformation.
Paid for by a grant from USF&W to NPSOT, and after months of planning and preparation, volunteers from the three organizations worked together last fall to add the plants necessary to facilitate the migration process. Nectar-producing flowers to feed adult butterflies and several varieties of milkweed to feed caterpillars were added to these waystations to assist monarchs along their migration paths twice each year. (Spring migration northward happens in April and May, while the fall trip southward is primarily in September and October.)
Since word of the program got around, "we've been very busy since the program began," says Dennis Markwardt, vegetation management section director in TxDOT's Maintenance Division. The division plants 3,500+ acres of wildflowers annually on our right of way through the state, with plant mixes designed for each district's specific environment, weather and pollinator populations. In addition, they are receiving requests from all over the state for the special wildflower seed mixes that now contain new, monarch-favored flower varieties, thanks in part to the work Markwardt and his crew do with the South Texas Native Plant Project to identify hardy, reliable wildflowers to grow for seed stock.
"We do as much as possible with other groups, communities, etc., as well as our own districts," Markwardt explains.
New areas devoted to monarch/pollinator support have been started around the state. Every TxDOT Travel Information Center has requested and planted new flowers to attract and support pollinators. The centers also distribute TxDOT's Pollination Bulletin and play the "Perpetuating Pollinators" video for student groups visiting on field trips.
Many butterflies of various types have been spotted at the rest areas on I-35 in Hill and Bell Counties. Recently, a tagged monarch was seen and photographed at the Bell County rest area. The information on the butterfly's travels can be sent to the tagging agency to add to this monarch migration data.
"I don't know who that goes to, yet," Markwardt notes. "But it's pretty special to spot an animal that's been tagged for research and to contribute to that."
Jake Smith
I-35 Public Information Officer
254-867-2705
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