By becoming the 100th city in Texas to make an investment in saving this crucial pollinator of all the things., we are joining a a growing network of cities working to create a Monarch and wildlife habitat. Mayor Bob Brown signed the pledge at the end of November.

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I think everyone can agree that we need to do anything we can to save all of our butterflies and bees. They keep things growing in North America. I have always been amazed by their yearly migration to Mexico for the winter to stay warm.

By - Jessica Ordóñez-Lancet

                Nov 25, 2019

Austin, TEXAS — The National Wildlife Federation congratulates the city of Lufkin and its mayor, Bob Brown, for signing the Mayors' Monarch Pledge, becoming the 100th city in the state of Texas to commit to monarch butterfly conservation. The whole Eastern monarch population crosses Texas as part of its two-way annual, multi-generational migration, making the state a vital region for the survival of the monarchs. With monarchs currently completing this year’s southward migration, Texans who witnessed the unique phenomenon were left with a sense of awe.

“The state of Texas provides critical native habitats that play a key role as stopover not only for our beloved, migratory monarch butterfly, but for many migratory bird species,” said Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón, National Wildlife Federation’s monarch outreach coordinator. “By making monarchs and other pollinators a conservation priority in urban areas, Texas is helping sustain healthy survival rates for the monarch butterfly during its fall and spring migration. We want to thank Mayor Brown for his commitment to our state insect’s well-being, and for serving as an inspiration for other representatives around the country, and especially in Deep East Texas.”

“We are so excited to become the 100th City to be designated a Monarch City!” Brown said. “We first became aware of the extreme benefit of the monarch butterfly in March of 2015, when the City of Lufkin was included in a Roundtable discussion regarding landscaping at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Master Gardener Native Plant Committee. We got the message and certainly took the information and moved forward.”

Across North America, cities have committed to the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge to create native habitat in public parks, city landscaping, roadsides, medians, green roofs, community gardens, backyards, and open spaces throughout their communities. In September, the state celebrated Harlingen as well, for becoming the 500th city committing to the Pledge in North America and the 14th in the Lower Rio Grande Valley region. Lufkin is one of the two East Texas cities committed to the Pledge, which opens a great window of opportunity to expand monarch conservation efforts to Deep East Texas.

The National Wildlife Federation’s Urban Monarch Outreach work in the state of Texas has been possible thanks to the generous funding of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through the Monarch Butterfly and Pollinators Conservation Fund.

Through the National Wildlife Federation’s Urban Wildlife Programs, cities, counties and towns across the United States are helping local wildlife by restoring and reconnecting habitat in urban and suburban areas. For more information about the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge, please go to: NWF.org/MayorsMonarchPledge

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