RAGBRAI riders could help restore Iowa butterfly population

IOWA CITY - Thousands of RAGBRAI riders could help Iowa's monarch butterfly population when they trek across the state next week.

Members of the University of Iowa's College of Public Health are assisting with an effort to restore milkweed plants in Linn and Johnson counties. They plan to hand small balls made of soil, compost and milkweed seeds to riders as they pass through Mount Vernon next Friday. Their hope is that the riders will then toss the balls into roadside ditches on their way to the final overnight stop in Coralville.

'Milkweed is essential to the reproduction of new [monarch] butterflies,” said David Osterberg, UI clinical professor of occupational & environmental health. 'RAGBRAI riders, there's something more to do in Mount Vernon than eat corn, grab one of these things and help restore monarch butterflies.”

Osterberg and his group are working to make about 600 seed balls to hand to riders at the midway point between Hiawatha and Coralville. The group 'Monarchs in Eastern Iowa” is spearheading the effort. About 2,000 seed balls will be given to riders, Osterberg said.

'We're always doing something to help the environment,” said Nancy Wyland, an employee at the College of Public Health helping with the effort. 'I've always loved monarch butterflies and I think I'd like to see them come back in the numbers I remember seeing them as a kid.”

Monarch butterflies in Iowa have reduced dramatically over the past decade. Reasons for the decline include climate change, a lack of milkweed and a lack of habitat, Osterberg said.

'It's just us fooling too much with nature,” he said.