The final numbers from the winter Western Monarch Count are in and the official tally is just 9,119 monarch butterflies observed at overwintering sites. This number is a precipitous decline from the past few years, and is the second lowest overwintering population ever record since tracking began in 1997.
The Western Monarch Count is an annual effort by volunteer community scientists. They collect data at monarch overwintering sites in southern California and northern Baja, Mexico.
What does this mean for the monarch butterfly? It means we need to continue to expand our efforts and do all we can to support Western monarchs and other declining pollinators. Current threats include the use of pesticides, habitat loss, and severe weather. According to the Xerces Society, January's fires in Los Angeles County burned tree groves where monarchs typically overwinter, including a site in Lower Topanga Canyon.
Historic overwintering population sizes used to range from 1-10 million monarchs, which means we’ve still got a long way to go to get back to those numbers! We also still need further research and investigation in order to better understand where Western monarchs are going, when they are going, where and when they are reproducing, and how to evolve our care of the land to best support them.
How can you help? You can get involved right here in Central Oregon! We are part of the monarch's migration corridor, making our area important for their survival. Some options for how you can help include:
- Create more monarch habitat by planting native milkweed (we'll send Central Oregonians free showy milkweed seeds!) and other native flowers.
- Plant native flowers and shrubs that bloom at a variety of times, so there are plants blooming from early spring all the way through fall.
- Limit or completely stop using herbicides, insecticides, and pesticides (neonicotinoides are an especially dangerous type of chemicals that are somewhat common at garden centers).
- Take action against climate change.
- Volunteer with the Land Trust to create more habitat at our protected lands. This can include planting parties or becoming a Weed Warrior.
Learn more:
- Monarchs and Milkweed
- The Land Trust's work to help conserve the monarch butterfly
- The Magic of Milkweed
- Creating a Butterfly Garden