2025 Events

The Monarch Trail is located on the County Grounds in Milwaukee near 92nd and Watertown Plank Road. It is an important migratory flyway, not only for the butterflies, but also birds each fall. Friends of the Monarch Trail (FOMT) is proud that this trail is the host of an overnight roosting site for these migrating monarchs. However, disruption from UWM's Innovation Campus, the Zoo Interchange, new roadways and roundabouts have all limited migration potential. This area no longer contains enough meaningful habitat for the monarchs to repopulate. Volunteers count the butterflies daily and have documented that since 2006 the monarchs roosting at this site has declined. Still, FOMT has much to celebrate after winning the fight for the survival of the Monarch Trail.  Members can credit themselves for saving 11 acres of critical roost area from development. While in pursuit of maintaining this green space, they acquired 12 acres of the Department of Transportation land to add to the preserve. Through education, they were also able to convince the D.O.T. to amend seed mixes for the Zoo Interchange right-ofways to include common milkweed and late blooming nectar plants to support monarch migration.  Public outreach and education is important to these friends. Guided tours can be scheduled and such requests have increased over that past 5 years.