Contact: Donnamarie Duffin
Monarch and Pollinator Coordinator
Missourians For Monarchs Collaborative
dduffin@quailforever.org
(573) 484-6660
COLUMBIA, MO, December 8, 2017- Missourians For Monarchs recently named Donnamarie Duffin as the collaborative’s Monarch & Pollinator Coordinator in the state of Missouri.
“We’re excited to join with more than 30 partners in the Missourians for Monarchs Collaborative to make this announcement,” said Casey Bergthold, Pheasant Forever and Quail Forever’s Missouri State Coordinator. “Donnamarie’s unique skill set, proven abilities, and dedication to wildlife conservation make her an excellent selection to lead and implement our statewide plan.”
Donnamarie will work to coordinate the implementation of the Missouri Monarch and Pollinator Conservation Plan. This plan will increase habitat for monarch butterflies on public and private land, through voluntary citizen involvement and seek ways for partners, communities, and agencies to coordinate similar efforts.
During the past two decades, monarch butterfly populations have declined by an estimated 90 percent due to factors including habitat loss and a lack of milkweed, the sole plant genus used by the monarch during its egg and larval stages. Missourians for Monarchs was formed in 2015 as a statewide initiative to address monarch and pollinator conservation in the state. In August 2016, Collaborative partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding committed to creating and maintaining 19,000 acres of pollinator habitat annually for the next 20 years.
The Collaborative includes conservation and agricultural organizations, state and federal agencies as well as utilities, agribusinesses, and cooperatives. Funding partners for the Coordinator include the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, Missouri Department of Conservation, MFA Incorporated, Monsanto and Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever.
“The monarch butterfly is an iconic species that has captured the attention of millions of people across North America,” said Donnamarie Duffin, Monarch & Pollinator Coordinator for the Missourians for Monarchs Collaborative. “The work we do to improve monarch butterfly habitat will benefit other pollinator and wildlife species. It will support our food production systems, improve water quality, and sustain our native plant communities. I’m looking forward to becoming an ambassador and advocate for the monarch and I am honored to be part of this historic collaborative.”
Donnamarie brings nearly 20 years of professional experience in project management and coordination. She holds a B.S. degree in Management Information Systems from Goldey Beacom College in Wilmington, Delaware, and a B.S. degree in Wildlife and Conservation Biology from the University of Rhode Island. Prior to joining Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, Donnamarie served as Project Manager within various state, federal, and private sector organizations. She joins the Collaborative having come, most recently, from the Missouri Department of Conservation, where she held several positions including the role of Missouri’s State Wildlife Action Plan Coordinator. For more information about how your organization can join this effort or about the work of Missourians for Monarchs, contact Donnamarie Duffin at (573) 484-6660 or dduffin@quailforever.org.
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