The Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway and Illinois Department of Transportation have partnered to create a 66-mile-wide Route 66 Monarch Flyway to help monarch butterflies.
WTTW, a PBS affiliate detailed the program:
What the roadway can do for the butterfly is simple: Route 66 in Illinois happens to follow the natural migratory path of the monarch, the numbers of which have dropped dramatically in recent years due to the loss of habitat.
While the department of transportation, which manages 400,000 acres of roadside vegetation, has committed to building monarch-friendly corridors along its property (corridors that benefit other pollinators, too), the scenic byway’s footprint is even greater, spanning a width of 66 miles — 33 miles on each side of the route. With the byway’s buy-in, monarchs would have even more places to eat and rest on their 2,000-mile journey between summer breeding grounds and winter hibernation, further boosting the species’ chance at survival.
The byway’s executive director, Casey Wichmann, said the flyway also can bring more tourists along the Mother Road.
Current plots of land along Route 66 that have monarch butterfly sanctuaries include Litchfield, Elkhart, Wilmington and Darien, with more being planned.
More about the program can be found here. The flyway also has accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
(Logo of the Route 66 Monarch Flyway via the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway website)