KPBS Midday Edition

San Diego Mayor Signs Pledge To Help Endangered Monarch Butterflies

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, John Carroll / General Assignment Reporter & Anchor

Published January 14, 2020 at 10:06 AM PST

This story was published more than 4 years ago.

A monarch butterfly sits on a flower at Butterfly Farms in Encinitas on May 24, 2019

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer joined hundreds of other U.S. mayors when he signed the Mayors Monarch Pledge. Signing the pledge commits the city to take action to help the endangered butterfly.

Monarch butterflies in the west are in serious trouble. Their population has declined by 99% since the 1980s. But the city of San Diego is now committed to helping the beautiful orange and black butterflies make a comeback.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has signed the Mayors Monarch Pledge — a creation of the National Wildlife Federation. The pledge means the city will take a number of actions, including planting milkweed and other plants that Monarchs need to survive. It also means the city will actively encourage residents to do the same in their own yards.

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Patrick Fitzgerald, with the National Wildlife Federation, joined Midday Edition on Tuesday to discuss the effort to restore the Monarch butterfly.

KPBS Midday Edition

Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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John Carroll

John Carroll is a general assignment reporter and anchor at KPBS. He loves coming up with story ideas that are not being covered elsewhere, but he’s also ready to cover the breaking news of the day.

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