Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) is preparing to establish a Monarch Fueling Station on its property near Council Bluffs, the second Iowa biofuels facility to commit to creating monarch butterfly habitat.

“We saw creating a Monarch Fueling Station as a great opportunity to protect an important aspect of our state’s environment,” said SIRE CEO Brian Cahill. “The SIRE board views this as a win-win. We can provide critical habitat for monarchs and other pollinators instead of paying someone to mow grass.”

Because of their migratory patterns, monarchs need small patches of habitat throughout the state and Iowa’s ethanol and biodiesel plants are tend to have a lot of green space on their properties making them excellent partners for this effort.

The Monarch Fueling Station Project was established by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) in partnership with the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium in December 2017. To learn more about the IRFA Monarch Fueling Station Project, contact IRFA at info@IowaRFA.org or 515-252-6249.