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--></style></head><body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal">The monarch grove at Pismo State Beach is the kind of place you could whiz past on your way to the grocery store, a nondescript stand of trees, sandwiched between a campground and houses beside the highway. But the grove is one of the most important overwintering sites for monarch butterflies in California, and has regularly hosted more than 10% of the entire western monarch population. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">As with many monarch overwintering groves, this site requires active and thoughtful management if it is to persist in providing monarchs with what they need. As the overwintering stage of the monarch’s annual migration cycle is the most vulnerable and the population is the smallest during this time of year, actions taken to protect the butterflies during the winter have the potential to help the population as a whole. The need for more active management at Pismo became especially clear in 2016 after winter storms caused the loss of multiple large trees, including one the monarchs preferred to cluster on and making the remaining cluster trees more vulnerable to storms. The experience led State Park staff to refocus their efforts to restore and plan for the future of the grove.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Since 2017, State Parks has partnered with the Xerces Society, Stu Weiss of the Creekside Center for Earth Observation, and other monarch experts to develop and implement a plan to restore and enhance the site’s ability to host monarchs. Among this group’s accomplishments are the writing of a detailed site management plan which provides a roadmap for tree management, wildflower and shrub plantings (to provide a nectar source for monarchs), and monitoring which will improve the site conditions in both the short- and long-term. The partnership also facilitated multiple studies of the grove’s conditions, which provide an underpinning for the management recommendations and highlight which trees are most vital for the monarchs. State Parks has also established a robust monitoring program by staff and docents, and detailed mapping of the grove so they can follow the fate of individual trees over time. But most importantly, this partnership changed conditions on the ground. In the past three years, State Parks has planted over sixty trees and nearly one hundred nectar plants, and installed an improved irrigation system. The plan also outlines more actions the park can take in the years ahead. As State Parks' actions have become recognized as a model of proactive restoration, their staff have been invited to present their work at national and regional monarch events.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Read more in <b>Planning and Planting for the Future of Monarchs in California</b> on the Xerces blog: </p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://xerces.org/blog/planning-and-planting-for-future-of-monarchs-in-california">https://xerces.org/blog/planning-and-planting-for-future-of-monarchs-in-california</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The blog includes a link to download the management plan.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Thanks!</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">Director of Communications & Outreach</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt">he/him/his</span></i></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@01D6C940.038F2110" 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 with us @xercessociety on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/xercessociety/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Facebook</span></a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/xercessociety" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Twitter</span></a>, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/xercessociety/?hl=en" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Instagram</span></a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Visit <a href="https://xerces.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">xerces.org</span></a> to read our <a href="https://xerces.org/blog" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">blog</span></a>, sign up for our <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>, and find out how you can protect invertebrates.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Watch us on </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#1f497d"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAiPLPJuySOgn6CbjkOxqLQ"><span style="color:blue">YouTube</span></a>.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Support our work: <a href="https://xerces.org/donate/"><span style="color:blue">Donate</span></a>!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </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">Cell: (503) 807-1577</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"><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>