Lake Zurich joins effort to save monarch butterflies

Lake Zurich will be part of a suburban push to help save monarch butterflies.

Mayor Thomas Poynton read into the record at a meeting this week a proclamation stating the village is on board with the National Wildlife Federation's monarch effort. The monarch population has plunged in the past 20 years, according to the National Wildlife Federation.

Similar to a Schaumburg Park District campaign, Lake Zurich will establish monarch way stations on public land and encourage residents to do the same by joining the wildlife federation's Mayors' Monarch Pledge.

Milkweed is the only plant monarchs are interested in and lay their eggs on. Toward that end, the nonprofit Ancient Oaks Foundation in Lake Zurich plans to distribute 300 packets of milkweed seeds at the village's Friday farmers market and other events.

“The wonderful thing about it is, it's a community thing,” said Lake Zurich resident Mary Kozub, a member of the Ancient Oaks conservation organization who spoke to the village board Monday night.

Poynton said he announced Monday he signed the National Wildlife Federation's Mayors' Monarch Pledge to coincide with the first day of summer.

“We are in elite company,” Poynton said. “We join Island Lake, Deerfield, Evanston, Glenview and Urbana as the only Illinois signatures on the Illinois pledge.”

Under the pledge, towns can take up to 25 steps to help save the monarchs. The list includes starting a public communications effort to encourage residents to plant monarch gardens at their homes or neighborhoods, revise municipal mowing programs to help with milkweed growth and establish partnerships with gardening leaders.

According to the National Wildlife Federation, at least 1 billion Eastern monarch butterflies migrated from the United States to Mexico 20 years ago. In winter 2014, the number reportedly dropped to 60 million.

Some big-city mayors, such as St. Louis' Francis Slay and San Antonio's Ivy Taylor, have signed the pledge.