150+ mile flyway corridor, west to east, Sierra Foothills

The Wopumnes 501c3, Sierra Monarch and Pollinator Rescue Project started out to build 32 miles of pollinator habitat in El Dorado county.  The project plan has exploded to network of 150 miles of Protected Pollinator Habitat connectivity flyway,  running West to East from the Central Valley, through Amador, Pollock Pines up to Placer, Nevada and Yuba Counties. The flyway will reduce the distance Monarchs and other pollinators have to fly to the next nutritious habitat in the foothills of Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada and Yuba Counties during the spring/summer/fall breeding season. 

 

You can be part of the Research Team, receive 15 free milkweeds and 3 nectar plants by filling out the survey to be part of the flyway!
 

The project will increase the monarch’s breeding grounds to over 125+ acres of managed pollinator habitats in public access lands, working farms and private residents' properties. Using mananaged lands instead of wild lands ensures pesticide and herbicide free stewardship of the habitats for 10-20 years. Managing habitats without pesticides and herbicides ensure pollinators and beneficial insects have quality foraging and breeding grounds.  The managed habitats will increase the availability of native nectar plants, indigenous El Dorado County Milkweeds, and native shelter plants for the pollinators along with allowing for Land Manager Citizen Scientists. 

 

The project will bring together a coalition of nonprofit groups, schools, businesses, government agencies and individuals like you, to bring back the Monarch Butterfly and supporting pollinators to El Dorado and Amador Counties.

Update: We are expanding our territory to branch through Amador County to hook up habitat restoration work being done in San Joaquin County by Xerces Society, Point Blue and River Partners! 

Monarch Identification

Female Monarch

Swallow tail

Male Monarch has little black dots on the orange background on its lower wing.

California Sister (from Wikimedia)

Indigenous milkweed

About us

The Sierra Monarch and Pollinator Rescue Project is sponsored by the Wopumnes Nisenan and Mewuk of El Dorado County Heritage Preservation Society. We are a California Native American Intertribal Organization established in 2018 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation EIN 83-2671897. We are an IRS tax exempt organization and donations made are tax deductible according to the IRS. The purpose of our nonprofit is to protect and restore cultural, historic and natural sites, important to the Nisenan and Mewuk Indians, to preserve for future generations.

 

Why do the monarchs travel so far?


California Indians cultivated many native plants: Buckeye, Valley Oaks, Soap Root, and even the little Milkweed. The Miwoks, Nisenan and many other tribes would carry these plants from here to there and plant them around their village sites for use later.   According to a letter from Professor Jelmer Eerkens, UC Davis Dept. of Anthropology, the tribes managed the lands in California.

 

The illustrations below compares the Native Trade Routes (left) to the migration path of the Monarchs and birds in California and the Mid-west. Natives cultivated the pollinators' favorite plants along their trade routes. Many of these plants are also "deer attractors" bringing food to the Native doorsteps. It is not unusual to find these plants along side grinding mortars the Natives made while grinding their acorns to make their porridge.  Milkweed was used by the natives for its latex and to make cordage.  Many of these trade routes have been "disrupted" due to development destroying habitats the pollinators and monarchs were acustomed to. Imagine flying in the next season to find your "family's" favorite milkweed patch is now a house or parkinglot. Sierra Monarch Rescue's flyway will help re-establish habitats along these traditional Native and Pollinator migration routes. The historic Nisenan of El Dorado County, the Wopumnes, are sponsoring this Monarch and Pollinator Rescue project as a way to honor their native culture.  Register today to be part of the Pollinator Flyway Network.
 

Sierra Monarch Rescue is a gift from Creator, to unite mankind and serve the welfare of all by teaching stewardship of this beautiful gift we call Earth. With the lightest touch of a butterfly's wing, imagination is sparked calling forth the Kingdom.

 

"Today is the day the Lord hath made, rejoice!" Psalm 118

Partners


MonarchWatch.org Learn more about Monarch Biology here

 

Xerces Society, xerces.org

 

California Native Plant Society

 

Placerville Garden Club (2023)

 

California Dept. of Food and Agriculture

 

Wildlife Conservation Board 

 

Ag in the Classroom

 

Yes Charter Acadamy

What we do?

 

To help the Monarch Butterfly and pollinators in El Dorado County we are providing educational assistance to land managers of all types (private, farms and government properties) to build out their Monarch Waystations with indigenous El Dorado County Milkweed (narrow leaf and showy) and the El Dorado Native Plant Society is helping us with Native Nectar Plants. We are propagating indigenous milkweed now for the 2023 Spring planting.

 

Services we provide under our grant:

  • Technical Assistance Site Assessments to develop your Waystation Pollinator Habitat Plans
  • Implementation of Waystation Habitat Plans
  • Monitoring (long and short term) to determine effectivness of pollinator habitat installations
  • Integrated Pest Management Workshops for working farms, private and public properties
  • Outreach: School presentations, Festivals, Farmer's Markets
  • Volunteer Planting Days: Bring your class, senior group, rehab group, church, company outing, tour group, scout troup to one of our sites.  We will be having a Volunteer Planting Day at public parks, trail heads, or working farms where you can get some fresh air, make new friends and help the pollinators.
  • Site surveys for Cultural Resources Documentation

 

Private residents who wish to help the Monarch and other pollinators may build a Monarch Waystation in as little as 100 square feet of their property. A Waystation in your yard or farm will provide Monarch Butterflies, and other pollinators, a safe breeding ground that you can monitor and report progress of to us. Sierra Monarch Rescue will provide Technical Assistance to landmanagers to set up their butterfly garden with regionally appropriate Milkweed that we provide. We will also make recommendations for invasive species plant removal, preparaing your soil, and provide a list of companion native nectar plants that you can purchase from us, El Dorado Native Plant Society, or any nursery of your choosing.  The Technical Assistance and indeginous Milkweed plants will be paid for by our State grant and are a gift to you for helping provide shelter to the Monarch Butterfly.  You will have the option be placed on the Monarch Waystation Flyway Trail map that will later be posted on this website. Please fill out our survey to be added to our waiting list for the 2024 migration season.

 

Plants will be distributed on a first come first serve basis to people who sign up on our waiting list. For the 2024 season we will be distributing plants at El Dorado County Farmer's Markets and some delivery will be made for people with special needs. 

 

Ag in the Classroom 2023

County kids learn about ag as they flock to Farm Day (mtdemocrat.com)

Marshal Gold State Park

 

Partnering with the Marshal Gold State Park we are proud to be kicking-off the build out of the California Native Interpretiatve Garden and Monarch Waystation behind the Nisenan Village Oomachas this November 2022. 

 

Located in the upper American River watershed, the “Nisenan Village” exhibit is owned and managed by Marshal Gold State Park. The site is open year-round and is experienced by 70,000 visitors annually. The Nisenan Village built at the foot of the “Mother Rock”, a large granite outcropping the Natives used as their “kitchen”. The “Mother Rock” has over 20 deep grinding mortars showing its use by the natives for hundreds of years. In 2005 the Wopumnes Tribe built the cedar bark oomachas (bark teepees) as part of the display. In 2007, a levy broke and the American River waters rose high enough to go over the parking lot and touch the Mother Rock for a few days. 

Volunteers Planting Days, April 21, 2024, we got Milkweed to plant!

The  photo shows in Red our first habitat restoration. The yellow will be the second phase of that restoration.  November 2022, volunteers came out to help prepare the Red area by Sheet Composting and possible early planting of some plants. Many hands make little work. We got milkweed to plant in the garden. Milkweed is a traditional plant used by the Nisenan for cordiage and latex.  If you would like to help us by plants for the project go to our donate page. A one gallon plant costs $15.

Set-up: 10:30 am

Kick-off: 11am - 4pm

The park will have benches, mulch and tools available. Please bring your own gloves.

If you would like to Volunteer please fill out the volunteer form. 

We like showing off our projects.

Need to talk to us?

WPA Post Office Building

515 Main Street, Ste. 201

Placerville,

CA 95667

USA

+1 530 350 9191

info[at]SierraMonarchRescue[dot]com

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