If you plant it, they will come. It's a paraphrase from the oft-quoted movie Field of Dreams; in this case, though, the dream is to restore the monarch population. Every year, the butterflies fly over Branson in their migration from Mexico to Canada.

"They used to fly over our area, just in clouds. You could count millions of them. Now I asked people, 'Did you see a monarch last year?' Maybe they saw one or two," explained Mona Menezes, environmental specialist for the City of Branson.

In fact, Menezes said 90 percent of the monarch butterfly population has disappeared in the past 20 years because of a shortage of milkweed, which is the only plant female monarchs will lay their eggs.

In an effort increase the butterfly population, Branson has joined other cities in the "Mayors for Monarchs" movement that was started three years ago by St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay.

Branson began planting milkweed and nectar plants last fall and they will put 500 more plants in the ground this year. The Public Works Department has been incorporating them into the landscape and parks, a Branson fire station planted a monarch garden, and several businesses are doing it as well.

Menezes is encouraging anyone to get involved so the Monarch won't be a beautiful sight of the past, she said, "We don't want to tell our children 'you'll never miss a monarch, because you've never seen one.' So we don't want to go there. We still have the chance to bring them back."

For more information visit http://www.bransonmo.gov/592/Mayors-Milkweed-for-Monarchs

Springfield recently joined "Mayor's for Monarchs."