Given the vastness of the Texas landscape and its importance to spring monarch reproduction and spring and fall migration, the state has a large role to play in efforts to protect monarch butterflies. With 95% of the land in Texas being privately owned, it is crucial that stakeholders within and beyond the state work together to conserve natural resources not only for monarch butterflies, but for the entire flora, fauna, and people that depend on the land.
“Inspiring collaborative efforts to conserve monarchs and their habitat is what we aim to achieve, in Texas and beyond. Texan by Nature is stepping up to start conversations with practitioners and other stakeholders, and we’re thrilled to have their coordination and leadership in the MJV,” says Wendy Caldwell, MJV Coordinator.
Texan by Nature’s main goal is to activate new investments in conservation that are Texan-led, community-organized, and science-based. Their mission is to spur Texan-led conservation that produces tangible benefits for people, prosperity, and natural resources. They connect partners with the resources they need to achieve data-driven results that can be shared across Texas for the betterment of the environment and economy. They make a unique positive impact by connecting, communicating, and catalyzing partnership: goals that dovetail perfectly with the MJV mission to support monarch conservation through communication, facilitation and partnership.
Their work is building on the platform Texan by Nature’s founder, Mrs. Laura Bush, developed to touch the hearts and minds of all Texans, from school children to business leaders, by telling stories of conservation successes. Combining their ability to connect and communicate with nimbleness and enthusiasm, Texan by Nature is able to quickly mobilize resources to support exciting conservation projects in their most critical stages of development.
Building on the good work that has already been done, Texan by Nature facilitates partnerships between people who use natural resources, experts who have the know-how to plan and implement realistic conservation practices, and the private sector that provides the funds, people, and visibility to get things done. In partnership with US Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, National Wildlife Federation, MJV, and many others, Texan by Nature is helping Texas play a lead role in international efforts to conserve the monarch butterfly.
Texan by Nature’s first statewide initiative is the Monarch Wrangler Program. The program provides Texas employers, organizations, and individuals with a results-oriented and meaningful way to get involved in creating habitat essential to the monarch butterfly through planting natives, removing invasive species, and tagging or tracking monarchs.
“We see a strong synergy between our two organizations and our collaborative efforts to recover the monarch butterfly,” said Erin Franz, Texan by Nature’s Executive Director. “MJV has a strong track record of accomplishing at the national level what Texan by Nature is undertaking at the state and regional level with the South-Central Monarch Symposium.”
The Texan by Nature founder, Laura Bush, inspires their work. Since her earliest days in Midland, she has felt a deep connection with the diverse natural beauty of Texas and a desire to pass it on to future generations. Giving voice to Mrs. Bush’s love for our natural world, Texan by Nature strives to strengthen the conservation ethics, not only in Texans, but all people.
For more information, visit the Texan by Nature website.
The Monarch Joint Venture is a national partnership of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academic programs working together to conserve the monarch butterfly migration. The content in this article does not necessarily reflect the positions of all Monarch Joint Venture partners. Header photo by Kip Kiphart.