Highway 13 Butterfly Conservation Trail

An exciting new Butterfly conservation project is taking shape in the state of Missouri. A nearly 300 mile corridor between the cities of Bethany and Branson is being developed along the path of Highway 13 to provide aid to local pollinators and provide a migratory route for traveling Monarch Butterflies.

Along the trail, carefully selected native wildflowers and grasses including milkweed, purple coneflowers, goldenrod, and bee balm are being planted. The hope is that by planting native species in strategic locations like rest stops, roadside plots, public parks, a continuous path of habitat supporting monarch butterflies, native bees, hummingbirds, and other essential pollinators can be established.

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Other Butterfly Trails

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Parks for Pollinators

Parks for Pollinators is a advocacy campaign created by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) that encourages education about the current plight of pollinators due to loss of habitat, pesticide use, and other factors. The NRPA hopes to inspire local action and park participation that advances native habitats and pollinator health. Locally, the Highland Park Conservancy is a member of the NRPA that works to further the principles of the organization.

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Meanwhile, here in Webster….

The images above were both taken on the Hojack trail. The photo of the Monarch butterfly was taken in the last week of July 2022. The photo of the mowed trail was taken at the same location just over a week later.

Two to three times each summer the Hojack trail is heavily cutback, removing the majority of pollinator plants that populate the edges of the trail. The mowing not only removes a source of food for butterflies and other pollinators, it destroys the young caterpillars growing in the plant-life along the trail. The milkweed, spicebush, and sassafras may comeback for a time, but the mowing process has consistently spread highly invasive swallow-wort further and further down the trail.

The mowing is not limited to the Hojack trail. The milkweed edging the ponds at Charles E. Sexton Memorial Park (North Ponds) are usually mowed down the week before the annual Waterfront festival in late July. Similar mowing is done at other parks within the Webster parks system. Sadly, even the Webster Arboretum Association consistently removes millweed plants from their gardens.

Consider planting a pollinator garden in your yard!