TRIBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION FOR MONARCHS 

Tribal Environmental Action for Monarchs (TEAM) is a unique technology transfer project launched in 2015 when seven Native American tribes (Osage, Muscogee Creek, Chickasaw, Seminole, Citizen Potawatomi, Eastern Shawnee and Miami Nations) began restoring monarch habitat on their lands with the assistance of Monarch Watch and the Euchee Butterfly Farm.  The TEAM project trained tribal staff in all aspects of restoration: native plant identification; harvest, processing, storage and stratification of native plant seeds followed by germination, transplanting, and growing out these plants in hoop houses. The project created a large number of habitat islands for monarchs, bumble bees and native solitary bees.  It has also provided a high density, low maintenance source of seeds for native plant species.

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Historically, inter-tribal environmental collaborations have been virtually non-existent.  The TEAM project was groundbreaking in establishing a new precedent of cooperation and assistance, with tribes in the coalition consistently volunteering to provide technical support and share resources with each other. These collaborations are unique and have the potential to have a profound impact on future tribal monarch conservation.

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The TEAM coalition has restored over 60,000 milkweeds and 40,000 native wildflowers to date on 2250 acres of habitat.