The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has announced 17 grants totaling $5.2 million to conserve monarch butterflies and other insect pollinators in 24 states.

The grants were awarded through the Monarch Butterfly and Pollinators Conservation Fund, a public-private partnership that includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service, as well as Bayer Crop Science, Danone North America, and the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation. The awards will leverage an additional $5 million in matching contributions for a total investment of $10.2 million.

According to NFWF, monarch butterfly populations—essential to U.S. agriculture—have declined by more than 80 percent in the past 20 years. The grants will bolster projects to restore and enhance more than 26,000 acres of pollinator habitat, including the collection of milkweed seeds and the propagation of more than 3,000 milkweed seedlings. In addition, the awards will fund more than 190 workshops to advance pollinator conservation.

“[The fund] provides direct and positive impacts for monarchs and other pollinators,” said USFWS director Martha Williams. “By using more milkweed and nectar plants in restoration and enhancement projects and providing technical assistance to make sure projects are as impactful and effective as possible, the pollinator fund plays a critical role in increasing pollinator habitat.”

For a complete list of pollinator fund grants, see the NFWF website.

(Photo credit: Getty Images/artiste9999)