AMES, Iowa — Iowa has been steadily adding new habitat for monarch butterflies over the past couple of years.
The Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium recently released a report, highlighting the progress of monarch habitat establishment in all 99 counties.
So far, they are well on their way to meeting their goal.
"The decline is really associated with the loss of milkweed in the Midwest," said Dr. Kelsey Fisher with Iowa State University.
Over the past six years, more than 430,000 acres of monarch butterfly habitat have been established in Iowa. Their goal is 790,000 acres by 2038.