Bringing Back Milkweed to Bring Back the Monarch Butterflies
The Monarch Butterfly is an orange-and-black species that is known for its annual, multi-generational migration from central Mexico to as far north as Canada. These butterflies populate the entire United States - other than Alaska.
Because Monarch Butterflies are always on the move, they need to have the right plants at the right time along their migration route. Monarchs lay their eggs exclusively on milkweed, which provides feeding caterpillars with a source of food and produces a toxin that protects them from birds. Adult butterflies rely on the flowers from high-quality nectar plants to fuel their flight.
Introducing the Updated and Improved Conservation Stewardship Program by Thomas Wiltbank, Program Manager, Delaware NRCS
To the conservation stewards—those committed to taking care of the natural resources on their agricultural lands--the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has a program that offers farmers and forestry producers incentives to take their land management to a higher level. The newly revamped Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) now provides producers with even more options to improve natural resource conditions.
The Value of One Percent
by Paul Petrichenko, Assistant State Conservationist, Programs, Delaware
One percent. A trivial amount most would agree; but consider this—would you want to lose one percent of your wealth or brain matter or better yet, one percent of your heart’s function, which pumps blood and oxygen through your body?
Delaware encompasses a small percentage of the expansive 64,000-mile Chesapeake Bay Watershed—one percent to be exact. However, that one percent covers more than 1/3 of the state’s land area. And being a part of the Bay Watershed, no matter the size, comes with the weight of knowing that everything done on the land impacts the water flowing into the Bay. Much like the farmers of neighboring larger Bay states, the conservation work that Delaware farmers implement on their ag lands to protect their natural resources directly impact the Chesapeake Bay.
Wetlands. Here to Protect and Serve our Natural Resources.
by Thomas Wiltbank, NRCS Program Specialist, Delaware
Wet, farmed land. Wet, flood-prone land. Wet, unproductive land. Wet, marginal woodlands. If you have experienced this scenario or are dealing with it currently on your land, there’s likely some history behind it. You see, in the past a large percentage of land tracts containing hydric soils in Delaware were drained from wetlands to make available for other uses.
These wetlands were typically drained using manmade ditches so that they would be conducive to farming or harvesting trees. However, in 1985, the federal government included provisions in the 1985 Farm Bill to discourage the conversion of wetlands to non-wetland areas by denying farm program benefits to those who converted wetlands after 1985.
The value of wetlands has become more widely recognized and there has been an emphasized need to restore them. The cumulative benefits of wetlands reach well beyond their boundaries to improve watershed health, the vitality of agricultural lands, and the aesthetics and economies of local communities. Restored wetlands provide habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife, protect and improve water quality, and increase groundwater recharge.
Muffled honking above pulls wildlife painter Richard Clifton’s eyes to the sky. Flying overhead are a flock of about 30 snow geese preparing to land nearby in Clifton’s adjacent crop field in Milton, Delaware. A common scene this time of year in his farm fields—which can be attributed to his unique wetland ‘plant and flood’ restoration project to enhance wildlife habitat.
Clifton’s farming background combined with his love of duck hunting and passion for painting wildlife gives him a unique perspective on wildlife enhancement. Growing up on a farm, as did his father and many generations before him, he recognizes the need to keep his fields in production agriculture. However, as an avid duck hunter, he desires additional habitat, food and breeding grounds for wildlife--all of which helps inspire his award-winning wildlife paintings.
“Before the project, I had crop fields with several natural low spots and when the big rains came, they held some of that water,” said Clifton. Not ready to permanently convert his cropland, which he rents out, to wetlands, he contacted his local NRCS office about options. “I just didn’t want to keep taking land away from my farmer. The more that I take out, the less of a benefit it is for him.”
The Monarch Butterfly is an orange-and-black species that is known for its annual, multi-generational migration from central Mexico to as far north as Canada. These butterflies populate the entire United States - other than Alaska.
ncompasses a small percentage of the expansive 64,000-mile Chesapeake Bay Watershed—one percent to be exact. However, that one percent covers more than 1/3 of the state’s land area. And being a part of the Bay Watershed, no matter the size, comes with the weight of knowing that everything done on the land impacts the water flowing into the Bay. Much like the farmers of neighboring larger Bay states, the conservation work that Delaware farmers implement on their ag lands to protect their natural resources directly impact the Chesapeake Bay.
Wet, farmed land. Wet, flood-prone land. Wet, unproductive land. Wet, marginal woodlands. If you have experienced this scenario or are dealing with it currently on your land, there’s likely some history behind it. You see, in the past a large percentage of land tracts containing hydric soils in Delaware were drained from wetlands to make available for other uses. 
geese preparing to land nearby in Clifton’s adjacent crop field in Milton, Delaware. A common scene this time of year in his farm fields—which can be attributed to his unique wetland ‘plant and flood’ restoration project to enhance wildlife habitat.