The Mayors' Monarch Pledge

In March 2023, the City of Carbondale signed the National Wildlife Foundation Mayors' Monarch Pledge.

The Carbondale community recognizes that human health depends on the health of biodiverse ecosystems that can better support the security and resiliency of food systems, healthy soil and air quality. The Carbondale community recognizes that cities, towns, and counties have a critical role to play to help save the monarch butterfly, of which the City of Carbondale, Illinois strives to become a leader. In light of the most recent placement of the monarch butterfly on theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ (IUCN) Red List, the City of Carbondale is choosing to renew its commitment to assuring that pollinator-supportive landscaping and practices are prioritized in all current and future developments.

Through the Mayors' Monarch Pledge, the City of Carbondale:

1. Commits to taking meaningful actions to protect the pollinators of Southern Illinois.
2. Commits to raising awareness about the decline of pollinators, including the monarch butterfly and species' need for habitat.
3. Commits to conducting review and revision of city code to encourage pollinatory-supportive landscape on public and private land within Carbondale city limits.
4. Commits to evaluating and correcting operations and landscape maintenance practices that could have unintended and detrimental effects on pollinator species.
5. Commits to creating a community-driven "pollinator yards" pilot program to educate and support community members interested in learning how to plant pollinator-supportive landscapes in their own yards.