East Texas Quarterly Magazine Summer 2013 | Page 8

Monarchs to try to understand the migration. Each white
tag, about one-fourth inch diameter, has a number that is
logged into a database. When a tag is later recovered and
turned in, scientists record where and when it was found,
and compare it to the release data.
Tagging has been going on since 1992. More than a
million butterflies have been tagged; only 1.5 percent
are ever recovered. Still, that’s enough information for
scientists to confirm the migration routes and learn a great
deal about the health of the Monarch population.
Where East Texas comes in: Two Jasper Master Gardeners,
Gene and Martha Hamilton, are trained “citizen scientists”
who help by tagging and releasing Monarchs. They’ve also
shown many school children how to raise butterflies for
release, and they helped organize the annual Butterfly
Festival in Jasper.
Monarch butterflies are in decline. Between the drought,
increasing use of pesticides in the US, and loss of winter
habitat in Mexico, this species that spells summer to every
child who ever played outside could disappear altogether.
MonarchWatch is an organization that educates and
encourages people to plant more milkweed and butterfly
nectar plants. They offer guidelines and sell seed kits to
grow Monarch “waystations” at Monarchwatch.org.
Jasper Master Gardeners have also made it their mission
to raise milkweed plants and offer milkweed seeds for a
nominal donation to the butterfly gardens at the Jasper
Arboretum.
To see what a Monarch Waystation can look like, visit the
Outdoor Learning Center on Water Street, one block south
of the Jasper courthouse. Most of the plants in the garden
were chosen because they are nectar sources for butterflies
and hummingbirds. Hand-painted bricks identify many
plants and you can often find master gardeners in the
greenhouse who will happily answer questions.
The Butterfly Festival, which is part of the Chamber of
Commerce’s Fall Fest, is the first Saturday in October, 9 am to
4 pm. At the Outdoor Learning Center, Master Gardeners will
stage butterfly programs, kids activities and prizes, and
(weather permitting) butterfly releases.
Two weeks before the festival, a temporary butterfly house
will be enclosed next to the greenhouse. Master gardeners
will help stock it with a variety of butterflies from their own
gardens so that festival visitors can walk through clouds
of butterflies, not just Monarch but all the colorful species
native to Texas. If they are lucky, they will get to see one
emerge from its chrysalis.

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East Texas Quarterly

Like the freshly emerged butterfly, this is just the
beginning. Plans are already on the drawing board for a
permanent butterfly house and a Nature Center across the
creek; things can only get better.
For more information of the Jasper Arboretum and O
utdoor Learning Center, visit http://jasper.agrilife.org/
jasper-arboretum-project/. For more information about
Fall Fest in Jasper, contact the Chamber of Commerce
at 409-384-2762.