Do farmers need to be paid to grow milkweed for monarchs or will they volunteer if it is easy enough?

Abstract

AbstractA decline in the monarch butterfly population led the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to acknowledge monarchs should be listed under the 1973 Endangered Species Act. This research evaluates farmer interest in restoring monarch habitat on their non‐cropped acres to help circumvent such a listing. Results suggest that efforts to promote habitat restoration on non‐cropped acres should focus on voluntary participation and make programs as easy as possible through design and technical assistance. The results also suggest that even a successful program can only provide a small fraction of the habitat needed to meet current restoration goals.