Many Monarch Watchers found this article online yesterday and commented about the featured photo – one of a Gulf Fritillary rather than a monarch. The photo has since been replaced with that of a monarch butterfly and the entire article is available online. Please take a moment to read it and then pass it on!

NYTimes.com: In Midwest, Flutters May Be Far Fewer

We recently received an email from a teacher who wants our help acquiring plants for a spring plant fundraiser that is going to be held at her school. We are contacting nurseries all over the country who grow milkweeds to see what is available. We are careful to identify to the sources of seeds used for plugs to be sure that plugs used for restoration were grown from seeds from the same ecological region.

We need more letters like the one below. Our mission in this project is to help these types of fundraising projects and to promote the planting of milkweeds in both gardens and in areas that can be restored.

If you know of anyone planning a plant fundraiser in 2011, please let them know of our goals and willingness to help them with these projects. Thank You!

Greetings:

I am a teacher at USD 504 Service Valley Charter Academy in Oswego, Kansas.

I attended the spring open house at KU last year and purchased a lot of plants to put in our school registered Monarch Waystation that we created.

I read on the Monarch Watch facebook page about the Bring Back The Monarchs program and our school is very interested in setting up a plant fund raiser for Southeast Kansas. Our school received charter funds 3 years ago. Our charter is built around the use of agriculture to reach our students and this would fit very well into our program. We have a greenhouse on school grounds and would like information on ordering plants wholesale through Monarch Watch.

We have had community individuals stop by the school asking about purchasing milkweed and I am very excited about the possibility of making plants available to our region of the state.

I share the passion of Monarch Watch and this will give my classroom and school a chance to increase awareness in our corner of Kansas.

Thanks for your assistance.

Theresa

I have provided two versions of these briefing documents, a “top ten” (included below) based on questions frequently asked by reporters and a longer version (available at monarchwatch.org/press) that covers another 30 or so aspects of monarch biology.

MIGRATION
Hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies migrate from eastern North America to Mexico each fall to overwinter in the high elevation oyamel fir forests of the Transvolcanic Range of central Mexico. Monarchs are unable to survive freezing temperatures and those breeding in temperate regions must escape to moderate climates to reproduce the next season.

GENERATIONS
Most of the monarchs joining the migration each fall are 3-4 generations removed from those that made the journey the previous year.

TIME AND DISTANCE
The migration begins in mid August in the north and in September at mid latitudes. The migration progresses at a pace of 25-30 miles per day, although individual butterflies often fly further during periods when conditions are favorable. Most monarchs originate from locations more than 1500 linear miles from the overwintering sites. The duration of the migration appears to be 2-2.5 months.

RECOLONIZATION OF THE SUMMER BREEDING AREAS
The monarch breeding areas in eastern North America are recolonized by two generations of monarchs; the overwintering butterflies that move north in the spring and their offspring. The latter reach maturity and begin flying N/NE in late April, reaching the northern limits of milkweeds by mid-June.

LONGEVITY
Migratory monarchs that survive the winter in Mexico are 8-9 months of age and may be the longest lived of all butterflies. In contrast, reproductive monarchs breeding during the summer months only live 2-5 weeks due to the high cost of reproduction.

NUMBERS
Monarch populations are measured as the number of hectares (1 hectare = 2.47 acres) of trees occupied by clustering butterflies in mid-December of each year. The size of the population has varied from 2.19 to 18.2 hectares over the last two decades; averaging close to 9 hectares in the 90s and between 5-6 hectares in this decade.

NAVIGATION
Migrating monarchs in the interior of the continent fly in directions that seem to be geographically appropriate given the need to reach Mexico. How the butterfly determines these directions is the unanswered navigation question. Components of the navigational system that are known involve a time-compensated sun compass linked to the circadian clock, and a protein (Cry1) that is sensitive to blue light and ultraviolet wavelengths.

TAGGING
Tagging by Monarch Watch volunteers has helped define the migration window as well as the timing and pace of the migration. Tagging also shows that the probability of reaching Mexico is related to geographic location, size of the butterfly, and the date (particularly as this relates to the migration window for a given location).

DIMINISHING RESOURCES: THREATS TO THE MONARCH MIGRATION
During the breeding season monarchs require milkweed plants upon which to rear their larvae and nectar sources to sustain the adults during reproduction. Nectar sources are also required by the butterflies to fuel the fall migration to Mexico as well as the spring flights northward. Overwintering monarchs require shelter and water. All of these resources are diminishing. Deforestation at the overwintering sites in Mexico has eliminated a number of former colony sites and others have been badly degraded so as to reduce the shelter and water available to wintering butterflies. In the United States, 6000 acres are converted to development each day, eliminating milkweeds needed by monarch larvae and nectar sources required by adult monarchs. Chemically intensive agriculture and roadside management by excessive mowing and use of herbicides have also eliminated monarchs and their milkweed hosts. Lower numbers of overwintering monarchs in this decade may be related, at least in part, to habitat loss.

CONSERVATION
Sustaining the monarch migration will require the cooperation of all three countries (U.S.A., Canada, Mexico) that are home to monarchs for some portion of the year. Future efforts will be based on the “North American Monarch Conservation Plan” – a program that advocates the implementation of measures to enhance, restore, and protect monarch habitats.

Again, this document and the expanded version are available online at monarchwatch.org/press – additional materials will be added in the future. If you have any questions about any of these facts please feel free to drop us a line anytime!

I have been a member of the NAPPC Steering Committee since its inception in 2001 and two years ago a Monarch Task Force was created to address issues associated with monarch conservation. The following document was crafted over the last few months by members of this task force with input from other monarch experts – contributors are mentioned at the end of the document.

Monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico each fall from Canada and the United States to overwinter in forested areas in mountains west of Mexico City. This migration is truly spectacular and is one of the most magnificent and intriguing of all natural phenomena. The very existence of this migration is under threat due to illegal logging at the overwintering sites in Mexico and the loss of habitat due to development, land management practices and chemically-aided agriculture in the United States and Canada. These talking points further describe the value of the monarch migration, the benefits of conserving monarchs and the steps needed to conserve the monarch migration.

1. As the world’s most spectacular and conspicuous long distance insect migration, the monarch migration has scientific and cultural value and should be preserved.

Monarchs utilize a broad geographic range during their unique and spectacular annual migration. This trans-boundary species is threatened by habitat loss in all parts of their range in Mexico, the United States and Canada.

2. Conservation of monarchs will benefit pollinators and many other plants and animals.

Monarchs can serve as international and iconic representatives of all pollinators. Monarchs use resources common to a large number of pollinators, and the size of their population therefore reflects, in part, the health of the environment for pollinators in general. The security and stability of our food sources and ecosystems are dependent on healthy pollinator populations, and conserving monarchs will protect the habitats for an abundance of species.

3. Understanding the status of the monarch population will help us evaluate many ecological problems, including climate change.

Decreasing monarch numbers resulting from habitat loss indicates other ecological problems at local, regional and international levels. Thus, better understanding of monarch needs and factors that impact their populations can have broad environmental benefits. Because of our understanding of the climatic requirements for monarchs during their annual cycle of breeding, migrating and overwintering, changes in the timing and location of monarch life stages provide indicators of climate change. Recognizing the realities and manifestations of climate change will provide the basis for adaptive strategies designed to help maintain biodiversity and the integrity of ecosystems.

4. Many existing educational and conservation programs focused on monarchs are available and need additional audiences and support.

Government agencies and many non-governmental conservation and educational organizations in the United States, Mexico, and Canada are committed to supporting monarchs. Additionally, there are many opportunities for the public to engage in monarch research via several citizen science programs. All of these efforts need additional support to further engage the public, schools, nature centers, municipalities and government agencies in efforts to create habitats for monarchs.

5. Preservation of the monarch migration will require cooperative efforts to protect, restore and create monarch habitat.

Sustaining the monarch migration will require extensive efforts to educate the citizens and decision makers of Mexico, the United States and Canada of the value of the monarch migration and the necessity of protecting, restoring and creating monarch habitats. The cooperation of citizens, institutions, municipalities, government agencies and decision makers within these agencies will be enlisted in this effort. The North American Monarch Conservation Plan provides a blueprint for and commitment to action.

6. Financial and scientific support for monarch conservation is crucial.

In order for monarch conservation to succeed, we must increase our knowledge about monarch ecology and develop support for implementing research-based conservation measures. Funding is needed to support basic research on habitat restoration in different regions in each country. Also in need of funding are the educational, conservation and research programs focused on monarchs that are so critical in engaging the public and educating both the public and decision makers about the monarch migration. Of particular importance in the United States is better understanding of the distribution and abundance of milkweeds and nectar plants used by monarchs as well as knowledge of how to restore milkweeds to habitats from which they have been eliminated.

Monarch Task Force
North American Pollinator Protection Campaign
Special thanks for the preparation of this document to Task Force Co-Chair Karen Oberhauser, Ph.D. University of Minnesota; Task Force Co-Chair Donita Cotter, US Fish and Wildlife Service; Chip Taylor, Ph.D. MonarchWatch; Kathie Christie, Pollinator Partnership; Robert Lamb, Pollinator Partnership; Brad Stirn, Pollinator Partnership; Larry Stritch, Ph.D., US Forest Service; Wayne Wehling, Ph.D., USDA APHIS; Harriet Crosby, Farview Foundation; Marietta Eaton, Bureau of Land Management, Lincoln Brower, Ph.D., Sweet Briar College, and Elizabeth Howard, Journey North.

The University of Kansas has just posted a feature entitled “Butterfly on the Brink” on their website, in conjunction with a news release. Both deal with conservation issues surrounding one of North America’s most celebrated natural wonders – the monarch butterfly migration.

The feature includes photos and video from our recent trip to Mexico, audio and video interviews with our Director, Chip Taylor, and lots of information regarding threats to the monarch butterfly migration from both deforestation in Mexico and the loss of summer breeding grounds in the U.S. and Canada.

Please take a moment to read through the information, enjoy the photos and video, listen to the audio, and then help us by sharing the link and/or information with others – whether it be via email, your own website, a newsletter or flyer, or in person.

Thank you for your continued support of our conservation efforts!

Clearly, we need an international dialog about how to conserve monarch butterflies. Such a dialog has begun with the development of a plan for monarch conservation. The North American Monarch Conservation Plan, which will soon be made public, deals with many of the biological issues related to monarchs including concerns about habitat loss. Unfortunately, the plan is unfunded and it is not clear whether or if funding will be available to implement the plan in a timely manner. Some of the suggestions below are similar to those in the plan, while others are novel and more direct approaches to the problems associated with habitat loss.

We need to create, conserve, and protect monarch butterfly habitats – the following are suggested actions to save the migration of the monarch butterfly.

In the United States and Canada:

In Mexico:

DEFORESTATION AND MONARCH CONSERVATION
Chip Taylor (Monarch Watch)
13 March 2008

Earlier this month, Lincoln Brower, Dan Slayback, Robert Simmon, and Isabel Ramirez published NASA photos showing deforestation within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico. At the time of publication, we (Monarch Watch) were in Mexico buying recovered tags as part of our program to assess the dynamics of the monarch migration. We visited four monarch colonies and witnessed first-hand the impact of deforestation. The rapid degradation of monarch habitats in both Mexico and the United States is now too compelling to ignore. We must act. In this communication, I’ll summarize my views on the effects of habitat loss in Mexico and the United States and will reflect on what needs to be done to conserve the monarch migration.

Impact of Deforestation on Monarchs

Deforestation is already contributing to the mortality of overwintering monarchs. In the winter of 2006-2007 a small monarch colony formed at a site known locally as Aseradero on the northwest aspect of Cerro Pelon, one of the most deforested areas in the region. The trees at this location were relatively small (4-10 meters) and offered little protection from winds and cold weather. A large proportion of the monarchs died at this site when the temperature dropped below freezing in January 2007. No surviving monarchs were present when we visited this location in March 2007 (see “New Tree Nursery Near Cerro Pelon”).

The degradation of the forest surrounding the Aseradero colony can be seen in satellite photos of the area (see monarchwatch.org/mx/aseradero.jpg).

This year at Cerro Pelon, the El Capulin colony formed in a relatively degraded forest near the top of a ridge. Monarch colonies typically move during the winter and tend to progress down southwesterly-facing slopes. In this case, the monarchs moved progressively down-slope to the northwest across a badly degraded area and settled in the Las Canoas arroyo where we saw them on the 6th of March. There is one large tree in the arroyo and it was covered with monarchs (see monarchwatch.org/mx/capulin.jpg and monarchwatch.org/mx/capulin-tree.jpg). The surrounding trees were also covered with monarchs but there was little in the way of canopy to protect the butterflies from freezing temperatures. I was shocked to see how exposed this colony was at this time but now realize that it has been exposed through most of the winter, resulting in the death of millions of monarchs. Typically, 10-20% of the monarchs at each colony die of various causes during the winter, though rainfall followed by freezing temperatures can be devastating as it was in January of 2002 and January and February of 2004. Excessive mortality due to exposure throughout the winter is not the norm for monarch colonies. Evidence of greater mortality for the El Capulin colony this year comes from eyewitness accounts and is also reflected in the number of tag recoveries. In years without catastrophic mortality due to winter storms, we recover an average of twenty-two tags from the residents of communities on Cerro Pelon. The tags are usually found on dead butterflies beneath the clusters and the numbers recovered from most of the colonies appear to be proportional to the overwintering mortality. Ninety-two tags were recovered at Cerro Pelon this season – more than four times the typical rate of recovery.

Deforestation

The rate of deforestation in the Monarch Biosphere Reserve exceeds the rate of natural forest replacement and the current efforts at reforestation. It is simply not sustainable and must be reduced. Estimates of the rate of deforestation vary depending on the time period, the authorities involved, and perhaps the methodologies used to make the estimates. Nevertheless, it is clear that the average annual rate of deforestation (2-5%) is devastating the monarch overwintering habitat and destroying the forests that sustain the water supplies supporting the people in the region. Nearly all of the old growth forests with >200 year-old oyamel fir trees are gone from the monarch reserve and for decades monarchs have overwintered in areas with trees ranging from 40 to 80 years of age. In the last two years, possibly due to the lack of more mature forests, monarchs have attempted to overwinter at three sites at which most of the trees were less than 15 years old. Such forests do not protect the monarchs from periodic freezes and monarch mortality is known to have been high at two of these sites.

Illegal logging persists in spite of President Calderon’s attempts to crack down on these activities (see “Crackdown on Illegal Logging in Mexico”) and it seems certain to continue. Local residents at Cerro Pelon told me that 2-3 loaded logging trucks leave the core zone on that mountain each night – with the knowledge of local officials. In their view, the only way to control illegal logging is to station rotating units of the Mexican army in areas where illegal logging is extensive. Stopping illegal logging may be impossible, but reducing these activities to manageable levels through enforcement and incentives is needed to slow the rate of degradation of these forests.

Reforestation

At current levels of planting, reforestation can’t keep pace with deforestation. Close to half of the 56,259-hectare Monarch Biosphere Reserve is degraded and in need of some degree of reforestation. Two reforestation efforts are underway, one by World Wildlife Fund Mexico (WWFMX), in collaboration with the Mexican government, and the other by the Michoacan Reforestation Fund (MRF). The former has planted more than 2.1 million fir, pine, and cedar trees (mostly in the core of the reserve) over the last 4 years. MRF, using contributions from individuals and grants from American Forests, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and United States Fish and Wildlife Service has worked with the La Cruz Habitat Protection Project in Mexico to plant more than 2.7 million fir and pine trees (mostly in the buffer zone and areas adjacent to the reserve) over the last 10 years. Although both of these programs are striving to reforest the monarch reserve, more trees need to be planted just to keep pace with the rate of deforestation. Frankly, reforestation efforts need to increase 2-3 fold in the next few years so that areas progressively degraded over the life of the reserve can be replanted. A promising development is the creation of a new tree nursery with the capacity of 800,000 seedlings per year at San Juan Xoconusco by WWFMX and Mexican government agencies (see “New Tree Nursery Near Cerro Pelon”). Four additional nurseries are in the planning stages, each with an annual capacity of 50,000 seedlings. MRF is increasing its capacity as well but more money is needed by both of these programs to assure that more seedlings are propagated, planted, and well tended.

The ease of reforestation depends greatly on the type of landscape being planted. Areas that have been selectively logged and contain mature trees reseed and therefore require little planting. Landscapes that were formerly crop lands are easily reforested as secondary growth is readily controlled. Clear-cut areas, which are rapidly invaded by dense 3-4 meter tall weedy vegetation, are particularly challenging to reforest since this vegetation competes for light, space, and nutrients and chokes out the newly planted trees. The north side of Cerro Pelon has been nearly clear-cut and the growth and survival of seedlings planted in the cut over areas appears to be quite low (see monarchwatch.org/mx/pelon.jpg). Reestablishing the forest on this slope will involve many replantings, take a long time, and cost a great deal.

Habitat Loss in United States

Habitat loss in the United States is also a threat to the monarch population. Development consumes 6,000 acres (9.4 square miles) a day, 2.2 million acres per year – this is roughly equivalent to losing an area of habitat the size of the state of Illinois (the 24th largest U.S. state) every sixteen years. In addition, the adoption of Roundup® Ready soybeans and corn has reduced monarch habitat by at least 100 million acres since 1996 (see “Roundup Ready Crops and Resistant Weeds”). Further, the incentives to produce biofuels over the last three years is leading growers to convert monarch habitat in the form of marginal lands and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage to cornfields. In an attempt to compensate for these losses, Monarch Watch initiated the Monarch Waystation program in 2005. The goals of this program are to create, conserve, and protect monarch habitats and to educate the public about the need to do more to preserve wildlife. To date, 1,900 Monarch Waystations have been certified and registered, but this is not enough. We need to create and protect more habitat for monarchs and other species. It is easy for me to envision the monarch migration as already being on a long slow death spiral – I have worked with monarchs for the last sixteen years and witnessed habitat degradation in both the United States and Mexico. Indeed, the population may be declining already (see “Overwintering Monarch Population 2007-2008”). What a shame it would be to lose this magnificent natural phenomenon – a sad indictment of the quality of human stewardship. This need not happen; all of the problems associated with monarch conservation can be solved. We need the will, cooperation, and dollars (and pesos) to make it happen.

The Solutions

A Mexican colleague wisely pointed out that the monarchs will not be saved unless a way is found to make the living trees more valuable than those that are cut for lumber. This statement makes sense but how can the “collective we” (i.e., all of those interested in monarch conservation including WWFMX and the Mexican government) convince the members of the ninety-one ejidos and indigenous communities in the monarch reserve that it is in their best interests to protect the forests? A possible solution is a system of incentives. To make the living trees more valuable may require paying the local residents to plant, thin, and otherwise maintain the forests rather than paying them not to cut the trees. A system of incentives involving fair compensation for forest management, rather than one of prohibitions, is badly needed. Incentives available to all communities are likely to be more successful than the present scheme in which some of the communities benefit from tourism while others do not receive this source of income. Some progress is being made in providing incentives through funds available from the Monarch Fund. This fund, which is administered by WWFMX, was established from a $5 million grant from the Packard Foundation with an addition of $1 million from the Mexican government and a total of $750,000 from the states of Michoacan and Mexico. The interest from this fund is used to pay cooperating communities. However, these funds (about $224,000/year) are not sufficient to engage the residents of all the communities within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in the level of stewardship required to sustain the forests. Fully funding the incentive program I envision will necessitate an increase in the Monarch Fund’s endowment from the $6.75 million at present to at least $25 million. Endowments are used to sustain many worthwhile programs and could be used effectively to conserve monarchs as well. This incentive program is not the only solution. Complimentary programs such as Alternare are needed to train local residents so they can more efficiently farm their lands and develop alternative sources of income.

Monarchs as a Metaphor for Conservation

Monarch conservation involves international and local politics, inadequate international cooperation, insufficient funding, habitat loss due to legally sanctioned development and illegal exploitation, a group of passionate advocates, and a largely uninformed and indifferent public. Efforts are underway to improve international cooperation but progress is slow. Insufficient funding limits most conservation efforts and that is the case here. More funding is needed to support international cooperation, reforestation, and protection of the existing forest resources.

Further, the planet is changing rapidly and monarchs are certain to be negatively affected by global warming and indirectly affected by increasing levels of carbon dioxide, nitrification, and the increasing unpredictability of rainfall (see “Changes in the Composition of Plant Communities”). To effectively protect the monarch migration, we will need to address numerous political, economic, and environmental issues.

Acknowledgements

Lincoln Brower, Carlos Galindo Leal, and Eduardo Rendon Salinas provided information used in this summary but all the opinions in the above are mine. Jim Lovett, Ann Ryan, and Janis Lentz reviewed the text and provided useful suggestions.

Orley R. “Chip” Taylor
Director, Monarch Watch
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045