COLUMBIA, MO, February 6, 2019- The Missourians for Monarchs Collaborative was presented the G. Andy Runge Award at the Missouri Natural Resources Conference in Osage Beach. The Missouri Chapter of The Wildlife Society presents the G. Andy Runge Award to organizations that “positively and significantly impact wildlife conservation in Missouri.”
Missourians for Monarchs collaborative is honored to receive the G. Andy Runge Award and recognizes that this commendation is only made possible by the dozens of partners and participants in the collaborative’s efforts.
“It’s a great honor for our collaborative to be recognized for our work in coordinating the restoration of monarch and pollinator habitat in Missouri,” said Bill White, Private Land Services Division Chief for the Missouri Department of Conservation. “Our collaborative is unique, with each of the partners understanding that none of us could do this alone; we can only achieve our mutual goals by working together.”
The G. Andy Runge award has been presented annually since 1994 to organizations or individuals that go above and beyond to solve problems in wildlife conservation.
The Missouri Monarch and Pollinator Conservation Plan, developed by Missourians for Monarchs collaborative, combines the efforts of multiple entities through awareness, education, volunteerism and non-regulatory, voluntary action.
In support of this strategy, the collaborative’s partners have reported over 305,000 acres statewide of new or newly managed habitat to favor monarchs from 2014 to 2017. Work continues toward the state goal of 77 million additional milkweed stems by 2036 through conservation efforts focusing on expanding and creating milkweed and nectar plant habitat necessary to support robust breeding and successful migration throughout the state.
