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Steven Hilburger

Steve serves as a Research and Equipment Development Grade Evaluation (RGE-EDGE) Senior Scientist in the Office of Science Quality and Integrity.

Steve is a science program manager, experimental gardener, and not-often-enough birder. He has been with USGS headquarters since 2002. He joined OSQI as an RGE-EDGE Senior Scientist in 2019 after spending many years in the Ecosystems Mission Area as the Wildlife Program Manager.

Prior to USGS Steve worked at Peace Corps as a Country Desk Officer and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kingdom of eSwatini.

EDUCATION

B.S., Environmental and Forest Biology (Wildlife Management Concentration), State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse

M.S., Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University

Science and Products

Restoring monarch butterfly habitat in the Midwestern US: 'All hands on deck'

The eastern migratory population of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus plexippus) has declined by >80% within the last two decades. One possible cause of this decline is the loss of ≥1.3 billion stems of milkweed (Asclepias spp.), which monarchs require for reproduction. In an effort to restore monarchs to a population goal established by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and adopted by Mexico,
Authors
Wayne E. Thogmartin, Laura Lopez-Hoffman, Jason J. Rohweder, James E. Diffendorfer, Ryan G. Drum, Darius J. Semmens, Scott Black, Iris Caldwell, Donita Cotter, Pauline Drobney, Laura L. Jackson, Michael Gale, Doug Helmers, Steven B. Hilburger, Elizabeth Howard, Karen S. Oberhauser, John M. Pleasants, Brice X. Semmens, Orley R. Taylor, Patrick Ward, Jake F. Weltzin, Ruscena Wiederholt
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Collaborative Species Conservation

Collaborative Species Conservation

Science in support of management and conservation of threatened and endangered species

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Image: Monarch Male Close-Up
Monarch Male Close-Up
Monarch Male Close-Up
Image: Monarch Male Close-Up

Monarch Male Close-Up

Monarch Male Close-Up

A monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) resting and sunning at an overwintering site in the Piedra Herrada Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Mexico. This individual is a male, identifiable by the black spot on each hindwing.

By
Ecosystems, Communications and Publishing
Image: Monarch Male Close-Up

Monarch Male Close-Up

Monarch Male Close-Up

A monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) resting and sunning at an overwintering site in the Piedra Herrada Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Mexico. This individual is a male, identifiable by the black spot on each hindwing.

By
Ecosystems, Communications and Publishing
Image: Monarch Butterflies on Tree
Monarch Butterflies on Tree
Monarch Butterflies on Tree
Image: Monarch Butterflies on Tree

Monarch Butterflies on Tree

Monarch Butterflies on Tree

A group of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) covers an oyamel fir tree (Abies religiosa) at an overwintering site in the Piedra Herrada Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Mexico.

By
Ecosystems, Communications and Publishing
Image: Monarch Butterflies on Tree

Monarch Butterflies on Tree

Monarch Butterflies on Tree

A group of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) covers an oyamel fir tree (Abies religiosa) at an overwintering site in the Piedra Herrada Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Mexico.

By
Ecosystems, Communications and Publishing

Science and Products