GREAT OUTDOORS: Islands highlight Monarch butterfly migration

A pair of celebrations occurred last Saturday on South Bass and Kelleys Islands that illustrated the importance of the Lake Erie Islands as Monarch butterfly "steppingstones" used during their fall migration south to Mexico.During September, swarms of these iconic insects often cling to trees on the islands awaiting favorable conditions to continue their flight across the lake, commonly witnessed from the ferry boats while crossing the South Passage.On South Bass Island, the first annual Put-in-Bay Monarch Fest was hosted at Duggan's Field by the Lake Erie Islands Nature and Wildlife Center (LEINWC).This wildflower garden across the street from the South Bass Island Lighthouse has beautified the southern end of the island for over 15 years.The festival featured a variety of activities and Monarch butterfly tagging.According to the LEINWC, the large-scale decline of pollinators across the United States makes it important to tag these beautiful butterflies to update population estimates and understand their migratory pathways, key to helping conservation efforts from Canada to Mexico.Meanwhile, the Kelleys Island School and Field Station in Erie County was formally dedicated as a WILD School Site.According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, Kelleys Island School and Field Station becomes the 217th WILD School Site in Ohio and the first in Erie County.According to Jackie Taylor, director of the field station, native pollinator habitat was established there five years ago, creating an essential way station for Monarch butterflies, providing resources for them and other pollinator insects to survive and reproduce.The site supports pollinator conservation and education on Kelleys Island, preserves monarch migration, improves the environment and aids other wildlife populations.She adds, "The students have participated in a Phenology Monitoring Project using Nature's Notebook. It has helped them understand and document phenological shifts and gain valuable insights into how climate change alters the timing of critical biological events and their effects on wildlife. "Students have also used the site to carry out Project WILD activities that engage students in learning about science subjects in nature. Students, school groups, visitors and the community have been able to engage in hands-on learning experiences by hosting a variety of programming at our school site. This has also designated the site to become a Monarch School, Monarch Island, and a Monarch State Park."The WILD School Sites program, administered in Ohio by the Division of Wildlife, is considered an action extension of the national Project WILD program.Any educational property used by students, educators and the local community as a place to learn about and benefit from wildlife and the environment can be certified. Learn more about WILD School Sites and outdoor education opportunities at wildohio.gov.Eastern Monarch butterflies migrate up to 3,000 miles from their North America summer breeding grounds to their overwintering homes in Mexico.Their annual populations have been precariously low in recent years, from several suspected causes including pesticides, reduced milkweed quality — the only plant eaten by their caterpillars — logging at their wintering sites and both various chronic and catastrophic weather-related impacts.Their population is estimated by calculating the amount of area (in hectares) inhabited by the insects overwintering in the Oxymel fir forests in Mexico. A hectare is equal to 2.471 acres.A minimum of 6.0/hectare, which is considered necessary to sustain the population, has only been achieved in two of the past 20 years.