Logan County Tourism to install Route 66 Monarch Flyway in Lincoln Welcome Garden

 

[March 26, 2022] 

Logan County Tourism Director Alice Roate attended the Lincoln City Council Committee of the Whole on March 15th to share plans for a new attraction at the Lincoln Route 66 Welcome Garden.

The welcome garden is located at the corner of Pekin and Kickapoo Streets just a block off of the downtown square. In the early days of Route 66, the road came into Lincoln on Kickapoo Street, then turned west on Broadway where it connected with North Logan and Fifth Street.

In 2017, the late Leslie Hoefle (wife of Alderman Rick Hoelfe) brought a proposal to the city to turn the then vacant lot into a Route 66 welcome garden. The city agreed to lease the space to the Logan County Tourism Bureau for the construction of a garden. Hoefle collaborated with the tourism bureau and downtown businesses to raise the money needed to “furnish” the garden with a variety of items.
 

The ribbon was cut on the garden in June of 2018. Since that time, the Route 66 Byway sign has been moved from Postville Park to the garden. The tourism bureau has talked about a few more additions it would like to make to the park when the budget would allow.

Roate had reported to the bureau board members a request from the Route 66 Monarch Flyway program for the installation of a monarch garden in the park. The bureau board approved the request, and authorized Roate to move forward with creating a plan.



At the city council meeting, Roate explained what would be done. She has laid out a plan to install four raised flower beds. Each bed will be planted with flora that is known to attract the monarch butterfly. The plan is to have the garden ready for butterflies and visitors in time for the first Third Friday event that will be held on Friday, May 20th, weather permitting.

During the discussion period, Mayor Tracy Welch said that the tourism bureau holds the lease on the property and there is no action needed by the council. Roate was there to keep the council in the loop, but was not in need of the city’s approval.

Walt Landers of the city street department said he would like to review the layout and plan for the raised beds because the city does the mowing at the park, and Roate agreed that Landers should review the plan.

Alderwoman Wanda Lee Rohlfs said that she had done some research on this project and that she felt it was an important part of preserving the Monarch population. She said she would encourage people to do some reading on the topic. She also asked if Roate had plans for community education to go along with the garden. Roate said yes there would be information provided. There will also be signage at the garden designating it as a Route 66 Monarch Flyway.

The Monarch Flyway gardens are a project endorsed by the Illinois Monarch Project. The IMP says that there is a 66-mile-wide corridor that basically follows Route 66 from Chicago throughout the length of the state. This corridor is a typical route for the migration of the Monarchs to Mexico where they over-winter. Because of the use of weed control methods throughout rural and urban areas, there is a lack of feeding and nesting locations throughout the state for the butterflies. Without proper food and shelter, many of the butterflies perish in route to Mexico.

Currently, there is one other Monarch Flyway in Logan County. The village of Elkhart installed a flyway in 2021 and hosted a celebration of the butterfly in June. There are also pollinator gardens on the campus of Lincoln College and Lincoln College's Dr. G. Dennis Campbell Creekside Outdoor Center for Environmental Education is dedicated in part to maintaining native grasses and pollinators for the preservation of the Monarchs and other wildlife. The center has an insectarium where Monarchs are nurtured to adulthood and released annually.
 

For more information about flyway gardens:

June 2021 -Elkhart Monarch Flyway on Route 66 habitat stop opens
LDN - Top Stories (lincolndailynews.com)

Monarch Conservation Spotlight: Route 66 Monarch Flyway
Monarch Conservation Spotlight: Route 66 Monarch Flyway | The Monarch Joint Venture

Illinois Monarch Project
Illinois Monarch Project – Join us and save the Monarchs

[Nila Smith]

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