American Fork park to be renamed Monarch Park after the monarch butterfly

AMERICAN FORK, Utah — Mountain Meadow Park in American Fork will be renamed Monarch Park after the monarch butterfly.

The action comes a few years after a group of third graders approached the City Council with the idea. The purpose of renaming a park was to create a place where migrating butterflies would be welcome and safe.

“They came to our City Council and one-by-one about 10 kids came up and just shared some really interesting facts about the monarch butterfly,” American Fork mayor Brad Frost said. 

Frost says the City Council will officially adopt the idea Tuesday morning at the park at 9 a.m.

“If you learn of the plight of the monarch, their habitat is being destroyed because of development and things like that,” Frost said. “And they’re an amazing animal that goes through a migration pattern that’s almost 3,000 miles.”

The park includes some undeveloped areas that have milkweed and other plants that are helpful for butterflies.

“There are some areas that are very groomed as you think of a park,” Frost said. “But then there are some very native areas.”

Mark Jones contributed to this article. 

Read more:

• This butterfly was once thought extinct. Now it’s off the endangered species list