Noted: “To put that in context, that’s more than three milkweed plants for every man, woman and child in the United States,” said Karen Oberhauser, professor and conservation biologist in the University of Minnesota Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology.
As the first monarchs of the year begin to arrive in Wisconsin, there’s renewed attention on the fate of the species, which has seen a significant population drop in recent decades.”What they’re looking for is good habitat,” said Oberhauser, who is also the incoming director the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. The Milkweed plant is an important part of that habitat, as it’s where monarchs will lay their eggs.