Northern Iowa — The Interstate 35 corridor that runs north-south through Iowa is a byway for butterflies as well as vehicles.
Interstate 35 was designated as the “Monarch Highway” last year. A new logo for signs and posters about the initiative is being released during National Pollinator Week June 18-25, 2017. Six state transportation departments, including Iowa’s, are part of an effort to build habitat along Interstate 35 for monarch butterflies.
Iowa D-O-T officials say other “pollinators” will benefit, too, from the new roadside plants that provide refuge and food for monarch butterflies. The national population of monarch butterflies has declined by about 80 percent in the last two decades, but some experts believe the insects are beginning to make a comeback.
The new logo represents the interaction of the monarch and the Interstate Highway System. The blue backdrop signifies the miles butterflies travel to reproduce in northern climates, while the yellow demonstrates the insect’s migration along the Monarch Highway corridor. The white dotted-lines represent lane markers guiding the monarch home.
Iowa Department of Transportation Director Mark Lowe says that maintaining habitat for these butterflies falls right in line with Iowa’s long-standing program of roadside revegetation. He says that in the past few decades a large portion of Iowa’s state-managed roadways have been restored to more closely reflect Iowa’s tallgrass prairie heritage.
The Iowa Living Roadway Trust fund has commissioned a series of pollinator posters. You can download a PDF version the posters or order paper copies free of charge at https://www.iowadot.gov/lrtf/home.
