A stark decline has come in the population of monarch butterfly, 90% in the last two decades. A number of projects are going on to save monarchs range. President Barack Obama has started initiatives and then there are efforts being made by an eastern Iowa Facebook group.

David Osterberg, professor of occupational and environmental health at the University of Iowa, said that as a part of the campaign, they have molded milkweed seed balls to the size of a big marble for the Monarchs in Eastern Iowa group. They further gave it to RAGBRAI riders who spread them on the way out of Mount Vernon.

David explained that monarch travels 3,000 miles from their overwintering grounds in Mexico to the Canadian border. Along the way, monarchs lay eggs and eat different varieties of milkweed. But now, a decline has come in their overwintering grounds and habitat loss.

Experts have suggested to plant milkweed and initiatives are being taken to implement the plan. In March, the Obama administration started a plan to increase the number of pollinators and monarchs by seeding habitat along the Interstate Highway 35 from Texas to Minnesota.

Another initiative was started in March by the Monarchs in Eastern Iowa Facebook group. The group decided to enroll the bicyclists and will give them 2,000 balls made of soil, compost and milkweed seed. Owing to these efforts, a rise has come in the number of overwintering monarchs.