The Arizona Wildlife Federation is pleased to announce our partnership with the City of Tempe in its commitment to becoming a certified Monarch City through the National Wildlife Federation's Mayors' Monarch Pledge. 

"Given the enormous loss of habitat including native milkweed populations across the country, it is essential to support vital pollinators such as the monarch butterfly through collaborative conservation efforts,” says Keith Ashley, Development Director and Coordinator of Gardening for Wildlife for the Arizona Wildlife Federation, “The Mayors’ Monarch Pledge is an innovative opportunity allowing the Arizona Wildlife Federation to work together with local governments and communities in our state to support Arizona's native wildlife.”

The monarch butterfly’s western populations have declined by 99% in recent years. With support from the Arizona Wildlife Federation and Arizona State University, the City of Tempe joins the Mayors' Monarch Pledge and commits to taking specific actions to create and conserve monarch butterfly habitats within city limits.

“Tempe is fully committed to environmental stewardship,” said Tempe Mayor Corey Woods. “By becoming a Monarch City, we are taking a strong stance towards protecting this iconic species and ensuring a healthy ecosystem for generations to come.”

The City of Tempe has several action items it will accomplish in 2024 as a part of its pledge, including the launch of a public campaign encouraging residents to plant monarch gardens in their communities and working with developers, planners, and community leaders to identify opportunities for creating monarch habitat in new developments.

The Tempe City Council accomplished the first action item — issuing a proclamation to raise awareness about the need for monarch conservation — at their meeting on May 21. You can watch a video of the proclamation and follow along as Tempe completes these action items at tempe.gov/Monarch.