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--></style></head><body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal">Hi everyone,</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The number of monarch butterflies overwintering in California is at the lowest level in five years. This year the Xerces Society’s Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count tallied less than 200,000 butterflies, the lowest number since 2012 and confirming a worrying downward trend.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">For twenty years, volunteers with the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count have visited scores of sites to locate and count the monarchs that migrate from a region spanning from British Columbia to Arizona to converge on tree groves along the Pacific coast from Mendocino County to northern Baja California. The long-term data set from this remarkable volunteer effort is an immensely valuable resource that enables researchers and conservationists to address the crisis facing monarchs with accurate information about the butterfly’s population.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">To read more about the latest count:</p><p class="MsoNormal">Press release, <a href="https://xerces.org/2018/02/01/western-monarch-butterflies-continue-to-decline/">https://xerces.org/2018/02/01/western-monarch-butterflies-continue-to-decline/</a> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Article on our blog, <a href="https://xerces.org/2018/02/01/very-low-numbers-of-monarchs-overwintering-in-california-may-reflect-an-unusual-fall/">https://xerces.org/2018/02/01/very-low-numbers-of-monarchs-overwintering-in-california-may-reflect-an-unusual-fall/</a> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">If you want to read more about Xerces’ work to understand the western monarch population and improve management of the all-important overwintering groves, check out the following links and resources:</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Monarch butterflies disappearing from western North America (<a href="https://xerces.org/2017/09/08/monarch-butterflies-disappearing-from-western-north-america/">https://xerces.org/2017/09/08/monarch-butterflies-disappearing-from-western-north-america/</a>). </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Protecting California’s Butterfly Groves. Management Guidelines for Monarch Butterfly Overwintering Habitat, <a href="https://xerces.org/protecting-californias-butterfly-groves/">https://xerces.org/protecting-californias-butterfly-groves/</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">State of the Monarch Butterfly Overwintering Sites in California, <a href="https://xerces.org/state-of-the-monarch-butterfly-overwintering-sites-in-california/">https://xerces.org/state-of-the-monarch-butterfly-overwintering-sites-in-california/</a> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Matthew</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">----------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Matthew Shepherd</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Communications Director</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><img border="0" width="160" height="60" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D39BF6.EFECF3E0" alt="Email-Outlook_Xerces-logo-CMYK"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Protecting the Life That Sustains Us</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Connect: <a href="http://www.xerces.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">www.xerces.org</span></a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/xerces.society/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Facebook</span></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/xercessociety" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Twitter</span></a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/xercessociety/?hl=en" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Instagram</span></a> <a href="http://www.xerces.org/blog/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Blog</span></a> <a href="https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001HTk7N6nZumLPinBr8VACbNdTXCe732bGu6KpqC13JAKPti_HBe5xyr7t0p4mDfKe2dOsd-TB1qvv772s6GQfVa_SbKKfwBiwl4blH4KvCjq4dpmA2M9UNZ2axlQwu_1Gvjrl2Rb53WUZwsddwCzyorgxedLAaMy3" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">E-newsletter</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">628 NE Broadway, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97232, USA</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Office: (503) 232-6639 x110</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Cell: (503) 807-1577</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><a href="mailto:matthew.shepherd@xerces.org" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">matthew.shepherd@xerces.org</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></body></html>