2016-4 Remembrances Special Edition1
City of Schertz
Remembrances Special Edition Article 2016-4
Presented by: Schertz Historical Preservation Committee
Historic Preservation of a Natural Kind
The arrival of the monarch butterfly here in the Cibolo Valley is an inspiring sight considering
what we know about the beautiful flying insect and its perseverance in traveling thousands of
miles along its summer and winter migration routes. Scientists are worried that there is a serious
threat being faced by the monarch which is in need of attention. The monarch population has
decreased from an estimated one billion 20 years ago to an estimated population of about 34
million today.1 Most scientist believe that the decrease in production of the milkweed plant and
other nectar-producing plants caused by bad weather and over use of pesticides may be the
reason for the monarch declining numbers. Thus, preservation of this marvelous species of
insect is front and center on the agenda of the United States Department of Agriculture. So much
so, that the Department has announced a federal grant program of $720 million for 84 monarch
butterfly preservation projects across the country to include $6 million for projects in nine states
including Texas2. It’s the weather and habitat areas that prompt the butterfly’s movement from
north to south and back to the north each Spring and Fall. It’s in late April that we see the
monarch crisscrossing Southern Texas (and across our region) from Mexico on its return flight to
its summer habitat in Canada. The best habitat for monarchs is the warmer climates where
nectar producing plants are plentiful.
The caterpillar (pupa) stage of the monarch Monarch Butterfly arrival as staged butterfly development as photographed in the by Dean Weirtz garden of John Lewicki by Mr. Lewicki.
Local Schertz gardeners are seeking to make their properties monarch friendly by adding nectar
producing plants such as milkweed to their gardens. Among those promoting butterfly habitat
development in the Schertz area are the Guadalupe County Garden Volunteers and the
Guadalupe County Master Gardeners Volunteers. The former group has been developing a
1 San Antonio Express News, “Texas to Take Lean In Monarch Program”, date, Unk., p . A1
2 Ibid, p. A4
2
butterfly habitat easement along its gardens behind the Guadalupe County Annex Building on
Elbel Road. That easement will be dedicated on May 2, 2016. The above volunteers have
developed a butterfly habitat garden amongst its xeriscape gardens at Gutierrez Park on Borgfeld
Road. In May 2016, both volunteer groups will be adding a feature to its gardens that will
distinctly demarcate their purpose. The feature will be a monarch butterfly sculpture mounted
atop a four-foot high post. The sculptures were donated to the garden groups by the Schertz
Historical Preservation Committee as a token of the committee’s support of the two group’s
preservation initiatives with respect to monarch habitat development. A public sculpture
unveiling event is expected to occur in early May.