Marshfield Monarchs reaches 16,000-mark on releases

MARSHFIELD – In December of last year, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service listed the monarch butterfly as a “threatened species” under the Endangered Species Act, and one local family has been working to reverse that trajectory, reaching the 16,000-mark on monarch releases.

“We started working with them about eight years ago. It began with just one caterpillar in a jar that my sister gave us. We knew nothing about them, so we had to do quite a lot of research. It just kind of exploded over the years. We wanted to try and make a difference. So far, we've released just over 16,000 monarchs in the last eight years and have been working on growing more habitat spaces for them,” said Melissa Novak Gwiazda, co-founder of Marshfield Monarchs.

“The true impetus behind the monarch project is that we wanted to try and make a difference, even if it was just a small one for the monarchs existence.  We wanted to make an impact or at least give it a shot.  The world around us is getting swallowed up by concrete and someone needs to fight for nature because we need it more than people know. We want these things to be around for future generations to come.”

She said that the process begins with looking for eggs in the spring.

“After finding those first eggs, it's go time.  It means hours of scouring ditches and fields for more. Once we bring them home, we raise them from each stage of life. They start off in small containers, then go into tanks once they get big enough. As soon as they make their chrysalis, they then get moved outside to a tent where they can emerge and then get released later that day. The whole process from egg to release is about four weeks.  Being that there are several generations of monarchs throughout our summer, we are busy from May until September raising a couple thousand caterpillars into monarchs,” she explained.

Once the monarchs start to emerge from their chrysalises, they are released daily, weather permitting.

And the releases are helpful, as researchers say the numbers have been below average for the past decade.

“On March 6, the World Wildlife Fund-Telmex Telcel Foundation Alliance (WWF) and the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas in Mexico (CONANP) released data from the winter 2024–25 monarch butterfly population counts. In December 2024, monarchs occupied 1.79 hectares, compared to 0.9 hectares at the same time in 2023. This represents a 99% increase, the biggest jump we’ve seen since the monarch overwintering area increased from 2.48 hectares in December 2017 to 6.05 hectares in December 2018, a 144% jump. While any increase is great news, this number is still below the average for the past decade, 2.81 hectares, which is itself far less than the area when researchers first started measuring colony size in the early 1990s,” stated Karen Oberhauser, Monarch Butterfly Fund Board of Directors member/UW-Madison Department of Entomology Professor Emerita.

 “At the wintering sites in central Mexico, where most monarchs from east of the Rocky Mountains overwinter, monarch population size is compared from year to year by the number of hectares (one hectare = 2.5 acres) occupied by trees with clusters of monarchs.”

Oberhauser said that early farming practices likely benefitted monarch habitat, but today’s practices don’t create a favorable environment for them.

That’s why Marshfield Monarchs continues their work in raising and providing habitat for the declining creatures.

“I would say the most rewarding moments about this whole process is when someone comes to us and tells us how much one of our monarchs has impacted them.  Monarchs seem to be so healing for those who have lost a loved one, which is why we love to share the butterflies with others. We know how much they mean to people, and that means the world to us,” Melissa explained.

“We have plenty of wonderful people who find eggs and then give them to us to raise and release, which helps us with the number of monarchs that are released each year.

“If people would like to help us out, we do take donations and also have a donation page through Marshfield Area Community Foundation. We go through a lot of supplies each year, not just with the monarchs, but also with building the habitats.  Tools like tillers, mowing equipment and other gardening supplies are pricey, so anything helps.”

To find out how you can help on your own, visit dnr.wisconsin.gov/sites/default/files/topic/EndangeredResources/MonarchsHelp.pdf.