We’re proud to announce that last week, Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga issued a decree awarding Butterfly Pavilion’s own Richard P. Reading, Ph.D., the high state decoration of Mongolia, the Order of the Polar Star, in recognition of his significant contributions to wildlife conservation, leadership, strengthening bilateral cooperation, and building the capacity of the next generation of Mongolian conservationists over the last 26 years.

The Order of the Polar Star is the highest honor Mongolia can bestow upon a foreign citizen. Past recipients have included former U.S. President Barack Obama and the former U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia, Alphonso La Port.

Dr. Reading began working in 1994 as a consultant for the United Nations and has worked throughout the country on a wide range of species, from butterflies to wild Bactrian camels. Much of Rich’s work from 2000 to 2017 focused on conservation of Ikh Nart Nature Reserve Sitting on the northern edge of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, Ikh Nart Nature Reserve was established to protect a fascinating area of rocky outcrops and a globally important population of argali sheep. Yet, the 160,000 acres of Ikh Nart protects much more. Because the reserve lies within the transition between steppe and desert habitats, it contains a relatively high diversity of plants and animals, including one of the last great temperate grassland systems in the world.

The preservation of grasslands is essential for many reasons, including:

• They provide an important ecosystem service as a carbon sink, taking carbon out of the air and storing it below the ground.

• They are a genetic repository for many of the crops we depend on for food, such as wheat. When our crops suffer from diseases, scientists can go back to the source (grasslands) for answers on how to battle them.

• Understanding how grasslands work is key to the management of ranches in the U.S., which helps ensure a reliable source of meat production.

Despite its importance, Ikh Nart remained no more than a “paper park” (one that existed only on paper, without any management) following its creation in 1996 due to resource constraints and lack of capacity. In 2000, Dr. Reading and a team of conservationists began work to transform Ikh Nart into a well-managed protected area that could serve as a model for other nature reserves and parks in Mongolia and elsewhere.

The team’s efforts resulted in several successes, including a significant decrease in threats such as poaching, illegal mining and over-grazing; effectively doubling the size of the protected area; establishing a zone that eliminated most livestock grazing; increased wildlife populations and expansion in their ranges; developed a steady stream of well-trained professionals, including rangers, park managers, researchers, and students to manage the park; and created strong support for the local economy, including the creation of women’s cooperatives and tourism to enhance livelihoods.

Currently, Dr. Reading and Butterfly Pavilion focus on conducting research on the ecology and population dynamics of several threatened species of native Mongolian Parnassius butterflies as a basis for developing a conservation program for these species working in close cooperation with Mongolian colleagues and graduate students from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and Mongolia National University. He also led the effort to conduct a two-year assessment of invertebrate biodiversity in the Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, providing a sample of the collection to the reserve for their use and house the rest of the collection with the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. He is now working to write a guidebook for the most common invertebrate species of the reserve.

Congratulations, Dr. Reading, for this amazing recognition of your important, world-changing work!

If you would like to make a tax-deductible gift to support Dr. Reading and Butterfly Pavilion's research and conservation efforts around the world, click here.

Programs you would help support include Dr. Richard Reading's work toward the conservation of the Parnassius butterfly in Mongolia, especially population monitoring, habitat assessment and host plant identification, as well as the development of a butterfly farm in Sumatra, Indonesia, Butterfly Pavilion's work on the Florida Reef Tract Rescue Project, and multiple breeding and monitoring programs.

About Butterfly Pavilion:

Butterfly Pavilion is the world’s only stand-alone, Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited invertebrate zoo dedicated to transforming the way people think about the small but mighty animals that are the hidden heroes of the animal kingdom. As the leader in invertebrate knowledge, inspiration and connection, and as a member institution of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, Butterfly Pavilion works to foster an appreciation of these critical animals by educating the public about the need to protect and care for threatened habitats globally, while conducting research for solutions in invertebrate conservation. Whether it is providing unique, hands-on learning experiences in our exhibits and educational programs, conducting new research that sets the standard for zoos across the country or building innovative solutions for species and habitat conservation in countries around the world, Butterfly Pavilion is leading the way in ensuring invertebrates are protected for the future. Learn more at butterflies.local.