24
Wednesday, June 22, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
BuTTERFLIES: Milkweed
is key to monarch
migration
Continued from page 3
disease and parasites; cli-
mate change; and pesticide
use. After learning about the
decline in the monarch popu-
lation, the class decided they
wanted to build a butterfly
habitat.
Monarchs travel between
1,000 and 2,000 miles from
Canada to Mexico every
year. Monarchs can travel
between 50-100 miles a day;
it can take up to two months
to complete their journey to
winter habitat. Across the
country there are three dif-
ferent migration corridors.
Sisters lies on the West Coast
corridor.
This species of butterfly
typically produces 5-6 gen-
erations per year. The first
generations have a lifespan of
between 2-8 weeks. During
this time they continue to
move north, mate and have
the next generation that will
continue the northern migra-
tion. The last generation —
the “super-generation” — can
live from 7-9 months. These
are the butterflies that will
migrate south for the winter
to either Southern California
or the Sierra Nevada moun-
tains of Mexico.
To do what they could to
combat the habitat loss for
monarchs, students in Werts’
class, along with a variety
of volunteers, built a mon-
arch waystation outside the
middle school. Volunteers
Dave and Joel Priest of
Sisters helped to build raised
beds for the specific plants,
as well as installed drip irri-
gation to ensure the plants
stayed watered. In addition
to the many volunteers, both
Sisters Rental and Luttons’
Ace Hardware donated lum-
ber, mulch and other products
to help this project.
“My favorite part of
the project has been doing
research on the different
plants that monarchs
like,” said student
Stacey Alvarez.
“Monarchs can be
attracted by cultivat-
ing a butterfly garden
with milkweed and nectar
plants.”
During their migration,
monarch butterflies have a
very specific habitat — milk-
weed. Many native milkweed
plants have been destroyed
due to their toxic nature to
livestock. (Milkweed is toxic
to livestock, but animals will
avoid it if other options are
available.)
Adult monarchs feed on
the nectar of many flowers,
but breed only where milk-
weed is found. Without the
milkweed plants there isn’t
anywhere for the butterflies to
lay their eggs. The monarch
larva, or caterpillars, feed
exclusively on milkweed.
“I liked planting the milk-
weed,” said fifth-grader
Rylan Wetherell. “Monarchs
lay eggs on the underneath
of the milkweed leaves. The
caterpillars eat the milkweed
leaves, which make them
taste bad to predators.”
To m L a n d i s , a
retired member of the
United State Forest
Service — and as
Werts calls him a
monarch Guru —
lives in Southern
Oregon and has
recently
written
for “Native
Plants Journal”
on monarch waystations.
Landis has been working on
propagating native plants to
create travel corridors for
migrating monarch butterfly
populations for three years.
“Everything clicked for
this (Sisters) project,” said
Landis. “I was able to help
with the plants, they have
found a good spot with good
sun and irrigation — and
there is a great teacher that is
getting the kids excited about
the project.”
There are different variet-
ies of milkweed that thrive
here in the Central Oregon
area and they can be found at
local nurseries if community
members wish to develop
their own monarch but-
terfly waystation.
In addition to native
milkweed, a good hab-
itat also has plenty
of flowering nectar
plants.
Landis rec-
ommends a
combination
of plants —
some that
bloom in
the spring,
some in
summer and
some in early
fall so the adult but-
terflies always have a food
source. Milkweed may not
flower the first year it is
planted, but once it is estab-
lished the root system will
bring it back every year.
“I’ve liked getting the
word out about monarchs,
way stations, milkweed, and
how monarchs are endan-
gered,” said student Bodie
Dachtler. “I think this waysta-
tion can make a difference.”
RESCuE: Hiker used
cell phone to navigate
on PCT
Continued from page 1
Jefferson County SAR
Coordinator Dave Blann said
Sterley did the right thing call-
ing for help as she was headed
into the Cabot Creek drainage,
which is a very difficult area
to get out of.
“Unfortunately Alison was
dependent on the app she used
on her phone for navigation,”
Blann said. “After talking
with the SAR members that
located her, she is planning on
purchasing a standalone GPS
and refreshing her map and
compass skills.”
Blann strongly recom-
mends anyone going into the
woods bring the 10 essentials
and to be sure to let someone
know where you’re going and
when you will be returning.
Be prepared, it’s still winter
up high.
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541-549-2882
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