UCOR’s Sustainability Program and Heritage Center teams were able to certify a specific area of the site as a Monarch butterfly waystation through Monarch Watch, an education, conservation, and research organization. UCOR craft workers manage this nine-acre parcel of land in the Poplar Creek area of ETTP. It once housed some of the most contaminated buildings at the site.
UCOR craft personnel planted milkweed and nectar seeds (perennials), removed scrap material from reused soil, and watered the land as needed. They also performed sustainable management practices such as not using insecticides and removing invasive species from the site.
The preservation and protection of Monarch butterflies is crucial in our current climate. Monarch waystations are places that provide resources necessary for Monarchs to produce successive generations and sustain their migration. Due to increasing carbon dioxide levels, higher temperatures, and deforestation, the Monarch population is declining as their migration patterns are affected as well as their population growth. EU-13 is registered as Monarch Waystation number 49486 with the name “The Heritage Center Milkweed Manor.” This initiative was completed to further expand on the contractor requirements set by DOE Order 436.1A which requires natural resource and land management.
