Native prairie project that was attracting endangered monarch butterflies near zoo has been mowed down

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG/Gray News) - The Native Prairie Project, which attracted pollinators like monarch butterflies, is no longer outside an Ohio zoo because it has been mowed down.

Toledo Deputy Mayor Abby Arnold said the decision was made to mow it all and mow it often because of the complaints received about the native look.

This is not the first time this prairie has been discussed on the median of the Anthony Wayne Trail by the Toledo Zoo. Some have had concerns for years about its appearance since it was designed to be native prairie.

Zoo officials said destroying the habitat was not their decision.

“We were seeing incredible results. It was a really good monarch habitat. In fact, we have some monarch projects that we do here at the Zoo, and we were actually acquiring some monarch eggs from that location. It was a good quality habitat for a lot of pollinators,” said Kent Bekker, chief mission officer with the Toledo Zoo.

“We were not given any clear reason why this choice was made,” he said.

Toledo city crews have always mowed it down around Halloween because monarch season is over then. This year, the mowing has been happening for weeks and will continue.

Because the spot has been a point of contention in the past from some who thought it was unsightly, one of the past compromises was that the city would mow in a few feet between the prairie and the trail.

“This had reached the point where it took very little maintenance on our behalf or anybody’s behalf and was providing all of the ecosystem functions that we had hoped for,” Bekker said.

“We actually had signs up that said ‘saving monarchs’ and things like that to provide a really quick ... you’re driving 50 miles an hour, you’re half-awake going to work in the morning. You see ‘Oh that’s what it’s doing’ It’s saving monarchs,” said Dr. Ryan Walsh, the director of plant conservation for the Toledo Zoo.

Arnold said the city is sensitive to the nature of the work that was going on at the median but said they believe there may be a more appropriate place for it instead of at a main gateway to the city.

Losing the prairie will mean more real estate to mow and more resources needed to do it.

Plus it’s probably not quite all the way gone. Zoo biologists said some of these plants have roots 15 to 20 feet, and already some of the milkweed is growing again.

The Toledo Zoo has prairies like this at around 100 other locations like schools and businesses. So their focus will go to those areas.

Arnold said they have discussed landscaping projects on that portion of the trail, which could include the prairie project, but it will cost money. The Toledo Zoo’s project cost the city nothing.