HomeMy WebLinkAboutRes 2023-015RESOLUTION NO. 2023-015
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT,
CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY TO ENTER INTO THE NATIONAL
WILDLIFE FEDERATION MAYORS’ MONARCH PLEDGE
WHEREAS, the large and brilliantly colored monarch butterfly is among the most
easily recognizable of the butterfly species that call North America home; and
WHEREAS, the monarch butterfly population has declined by approximately 90
percent since the 1990s. Monarch butterflies face habitat loss and fragmentation in the
United States and Mexico; and
WHEREAS, Mayors and other local executives are taking action to help save the
monarch butterfly; and
WHEREAS, through the National Wildlife Federation Mayors’ Monarch Pledge, U.S.
municipalities and other communities are committing to create habitat for the monarch
butterfly and pollinators, and to educate citizens on how they can make a difference at
home and in their community; and
WHEREAS, as part of the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge, the City is required to take at
least three action items.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Palm
Desert, California:
SECTION 1. The Mayor is hereby authorized to issue a Proclamation pursuant to
Pledge Action Item under Communications and Convening in Exhibit A of this Resolution on
behalf of the City to raise awareness about the decline of the monarch butterfly and the
species’ need for habitat.
SECTION 2. The City Manager or designee is hereby directed to utilize the
appropriate City staff and departments to accomplish at least two of the Pledge Action items
listed in Exhibit A.
SECTION 3. The City Manager or designee is hereby encouraged but not required
to utilize appropriate City staff and departments to accomplish additional Pledge Action
Items listed in Exhibit A beyond those required in Sections 1 and 2 above.
ADOPTED ON JUNE 8, 2023
_________________________________________
KATHLEEN KELLY, MAYOR
ATTEST:
_________________________________________
ANTHONY J. MEJIA, CITY CLERK
CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA
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Resolution No. 2023-015 Page 2
I, Anthony J. Mejia, City Clerk of the City of Palm Desert, hereby certify that
Resolution No. 2023-015 is a full, true, and correct copy, and was duly adopted at a
regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Desert on June 8, 2023, by the
following vote:
AYES: HARNIK, NESTANDE, QUINTANILLA, TRUBEE, and KELLY
NOES: NONE
ABSENT: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
RECUSED: NONE
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the
City of Palm Desert, California, on ___________________.
ANTHONY J. MEJIA
CITY CLERK
DocuSign Envelope ID: 6CDD5794-8152-4E4B-9D6B-73124812F71A
6/28/2023
1
Mayors’ Monarch Pledge Survey
Open Pledge Period: December 1 – March 31
Thanks for your interest in taking the National Wildlife Federation Mayors’ Monarch Pledge
this year. Only mayors and heads of local and tribal government (or their staff designees)
may fill out this pledge form. Please note: the survey will not save and will need to be
completed in one sitting.
Information from this form will be used to create a public community profile page to
showcase your mayor’s progress and efforts in the program.
Please be sure to read the pledge language and FAQ before taking the pledge. If you have any
questions, you can email us at mayorsmonarchpledge@nwf.org.
Mayor’s Basic Information
If you are not a “mayor,” or the head of local or tribal government, please enter your name
and appropriate title here.
Title
First Name
Last Name
Email Address
Exhibit A
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Community Name
If your community doesn’t have an official name, consider using the following formats:
Town of Herndon, City of Fairfax, etc.
City
State
Mayor’s Mailing Address
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
City
State
Zip Code
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Staff Point of Contact Information
Please provide your professional title in the space below.
Please note that the Staff Point of Contact you entered below will be the default user for
your community profile. Please make sure you enter a valid email address.
Title
First Name
Last Name
Email
Note: This email address is your log in account.
Phone Number
Pledge Summary
Please type a description of your community, your community’s efforts and/or interest in
committing to monarch and pollinator conservation. This information will populate on your
community’s profile page, but can be updated and edited after this survey is submitted. See
below for a sample description.
Example Description: Exampleville is a city in central Virginia with a population of roughly
50,000. The city is nestled in the Green Ridge Mountains and is home to the beautiful
Exampleville Regional Park and many community gardens. Mayor Smith of Exampleville, VA
has committed to saving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators with their signing of the
Mayors’ Monarch Pledge and looks forward to engaging residents in building more pollinator
habitat throughout the city.
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Action Item Selections
Each year, you must commit to at least 3 Action Items from this list which you will report on
at the end of the year. At least 1 action must be taken from the “Program & Demonstration
Gardens” section.
Communications and Convening
Issue a Proclamation to raise awareness about the decline of the monarch
butterfly and the species’ need for habitat.
Example Activities:
1. Issue a Monarch Day Pledge
2. Incorporate monarchs into your Earth Day, Pollinator Week or other
proclamation
Launch or maintain a public communication effort to encourage residents to
plant monarch gardens at their homes or in their neighborhoods. (If you have
community members who speak a language other than English, we encourage
you to also communicate in that language; Champion Pledges must
communicate in that language.)
Engage with community garden groups and urge them to plant native
milkweeds and nectar-producing plants.
Engage with city parks and recreation, public works, sustainability, and other
relevant staff to identify opportunities to revise and maintain mowing
programs and milkweed / native nectar plant planting programs.
Engage with gardening leaders and partners (e.g., Master Naturalists, Master
Gardeners, Nature Centers, Native Plant Society Chapters) to support monarch
butterfly conservation.
Example Activities:
1. Develop community gardens with local gardening leaders
2. Host programming and other activities with Nature Centers
3. Coordinate and collaborate with local gardening groups at schools, colleges,
and universities
Engage with Homeowners Associations (HOAs), Community Associations or
neighborhood organizations to identify opportunities to plant monarch gardens
and revise maintenance and mowing programs.
Engage with developers, planners, and landscape architects to identify
opportunities to create monarch habitat.
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Create a community-driven educational conservation strategy that focuses on
and benefits local, underserved residents.
Example Activities:
1. Conduct outreach and support habitat / green space improvements in
underserved communities.
2. Develop brochures in different languages
Create a community art project to enhance and promote monarch and
pollinator conservation as well as cultural awareness and recognition.
Example Activities:
1. Host photo contests
2. Commission murals
3. Create and show films and documentaries
4. Support public art installations
5. Collaborate with local artists, including school, college, and university art
departments to create community-wide art
Program and Demonstration Gardens
Host or support a native seed or plant sale, giveaway or swap.
Facilitate or support a milkweed seed collection and propagation effort.
Plant or maintain a monarch and pollinator-friendly demonstration garden at
City Hall or another prominent community location.
Convert abandoned lots to monarch habitat.
Plant milkweed and pollinator-friendly native nectar plants in medians and
public rights-of-way.
Launch or maintain an outdoor education program in school gardens that
builds awareness and creates habitat by engaging students, teachers, and the
community in planting native milkweed and pollinator-friendly native nectar
plants (i.e., National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA Schoolyard Habitats
program and Monarch Mission curriculum).
Example Activities:
1. Eco-Schools USA Schoolyard Habitats
2. PK-12 Monarch Mission Curriculum (English and Spanish)
3. National Wildlife Federation Campus Pollinator Pledge
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Earn or maintain recognition for being a wildlife-friendly city by participating in
other wildlife and habitat conservation efforts (i.e., National Wildlife
Federation’s Community Wildlife Habitat program).
Example Activities:
1. Join the Community Wildlife Habitat
Host or support a monarch neighborhood challenge to engage neighborhoods
and homeowners’ associations within the community to increase awareness
and/or create habitat for the monarch butterfly.
Example Activities:
1. Host photo challenges
2. Create property certification challenges
3. Collaborate with schools, universities, and colleges to host joint awareness and
habitat creation challenges
Initiate or support community science (or citizen science) efforts that help
monitor monarch migration and health.
Example Activities:
1. Citizen Science Opportunities (Monarch Joint Venture)
2. NWF’s Monarch Stewards Program Certification
3. Engage with local colleges and universities science departments to host
community-wide opportunities
Add or maintain native milkweed and nectar producing plants in public
community gardens.
Launch, expand, or continue an invasive species removal program that will
support the re-establishment of native habitats for monarch butterflies and
other pollinators.
Host or support a city monarch butterfly festival to promote monarch and
pollinator conservation, as well as cultural awareness and recognition
Display educational signage at monarch gardens and pollinator habitat beyond
monarch demonstration gardens.
Example Activities:
1. Neighborhood Garden Signs (Victory Garden of Tomorrow)
2. Create plant labels or interpretive language for community gardens, parks,
prairie habitat, rights-of-way, etc.
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Systems Change
Please select the actions that you will begin to work on this year, are in progress, or have
already been completed.
Remove milkweed from the list of noxious plants in city weed / landscaping
ordinances (if applicable).
Change weed or mowing ordinances to allow for native prairie and plant
habitats.
Increase the percentage of native plants, shrubs and trees that must be used in
city landscaping ordinances and encourage use of milkweed, where
appropriate.
Direct city property managers to consider the use of native milkweed and
nectar plants at city properties, where appropriate.
Integrate monarch butterfly conservation into the city’s Park Master Plan,
Sustainability Plan, Climate Resiliency Plan or other city plans.
Change ordinances so pesticide, herbicide, insecticide or other chemicals used
in the community are not harmful to pollinators.
Example Activities:
1. Work with local school districts to eliminate or minimize the use of pesticides,
herbicides, and insecticides on school properties
2. Adopt Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices
Adopt ordinances that support reducing light pollution.
California Specific: Pass a resolution to protect over-wintering monarch
butterfly habitat on public and private lands.
Questions or Comments
Do you have any questions or comments?
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