Breckinridge said having a co-op of farmers that produces a lot of butterflies means that the farm will be able to land contracts to sell them in bulk.

A particularly efficient farmer can produce up to 10,000 butterflies a year, and Bohlken said some farmers will be able to make $15,000 to $20,000.

Wind said some tribal members were skeptical about the project originally, but the grant helped eliminate that.

Vicky Curry, a participant in the program, said she was on board from the beginning.

Curry said she grew up in a rural area, and remembers seeing the monarch migration every year.

“I don’t see that anymore,” she said. She’s happy to be able to participate in a program that she says will help conserve the dwindling butterfly species.

Breckinridge said in the wild, butterflies have a 5 percent survival rate from egg to adult. In captivity, the survival rate is 95 percent.

“It’s a win-win for everyone,” she said of the project.

Grant money also will go toward operating a vehicle to pick up butterflies from farmers’ homes, as well as toward a learning center that will be built on tribal land in southeast Tulsa County. The learning center will house some of the butterflies raised by the farmers.

Nour Habib 918-581-8369 nour.habib@tulsaworld.com