Cunningham Falls State Park Receives $2,500 for Butterfly Garden

FirstEnergy Foundation Helping Maryland Protect Monarchs

L to R: Jacob Fisher, FirstEnergy; Gerald Harris, Friends of; James Sears, FirstEnergy; Ranger Alicia Norris; Charles Brewer, FirstEnergy.

The Friends of Cunningham Falls and Gambrill State Parks, Inc. was presented with a $2,500 check from the FirstEnergy Foundation to create pollinator meadows. The funds will help the Maryland Department of Natural Resources with ongoing efforts to increase available habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators on state lands.

“The department is avidly working to help boost monarch butterfly populations through a variety of conservation projects,” Natural Resources Invertebrate Ecologist Jennifer Frye said.  “We are fortunate to have parntners in this effort, including FirstEnergy Foundation, which will aid our efforts to create the resources these species needs to survive and thrive.”

With the donation, the department will plant milkweed, the host plant for monarch caterpillars, as well as a variety of nectar plants including goldenrods and asters that monarchs depend upon during their fall journey to Mexico. This is part of a larger effort to improve conditions for monarchs as well as other pollinators including native bees, other butterflies, and a host of beneficial insects. All work will be conducted within the coastal migration corridor, both on the Coastal Plain and in the Catoctin Mountain region, to ensure continuity of habitat along the essential monarch migration route.

“The FirstEnergy Foundation is pleased to provide financial assistance to the department to help make Cunningham Falls State Park a perfect layover for breeding and migrating monarch butterflies,” FirstEnergy’s Maryland Operations President James A. Sears, Jr. said.  “Our power line right-of-way in the park is home to plants that provide food and cover for these magnificent butterflies. Efforts to expand that habitat with new plants and fencing to protect those sensitive pollinator plants from browsing deer should help native butterfly populations and allow park visitors to enjoy these iconic creatures for years to come.”

This project will help the department meet its goal of planting at least 10 acres across six state parks and two wildlife management areas by the end of 2016. Following the plantings, the department will initiate monitoring and maintenance plans to ensure these enhanced habitats continue to support monarchs and other pollinators for years to come.