<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">Hi everyone, just sharing another update from our monarch staff on how the Western Monarch Count is going -- and it looks like more good news!</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Matthew<br><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><p>________<br></p><p><b><span style="font-size:10pt">Matthew Shepherd</span></b><span style="font-size:10pt"><br>Director of </span><span style="font-size:10pt">Outreach & Education<br></span><i style="font-size:10pt">he/him/his</i></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt"><b>THE XERCES SOCIETY<br>for Invertebrate Conservation</b></span></p><p><br></p></div></div></div></div><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The Xerces Society's Western Monarch Count: Mid-Season Update, December 2022</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">While preliminary, more than 300,000* monarch butterflies have been reported across 183 overwintering sites in California for The Xerces Society's Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count. Data are still being submitted for the Thanksgiving Count monitoring period, which ran from 11/12/22 - 12/4/22, and </span><a href="https://xerces.org/" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The Xerces Society</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> plans to share the final total in late January 2023, once all data have been compiled and vetted. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The largest individual count so far is 34,180 at a private overwintering site in Santa Barbara County. Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo Counties have the largest four sites, which host more than 20,000 butterflies each. Among them is the Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove, which is open to the public for viewing and docent-led tours. (</span><a href="https://www.westernmonarchcount.org/f-a-q/#:~:text=on%20this%20page.-,I%20want%20to%20go%20see%20monarchs!%20What%20are%20some%20of%20the%20best%20sites%20for%20a%20visitor%3F,-Monarchs%20overwinter%20at" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">See more publicly-accessible sites</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">). </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Surpassing 300,000 monarch butterflies for the 2022 Thanksgiving Count is a meaningful benchmark. In fact, it's something that hasn't occurred since the fall of 2000! (That said, volunteers are counting significantly more sites since the early 2000s, and thus, possibly more butterflies, too.) After last year's surprising news of a more than 100-fold increase from 2020's record lows of ~2,000 butterflies, a second year of increasing numbers gives hope for the struggling western monarch population. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">However, for decades, monarch scientists have been concerned about the butterfly's overall downward population trend, and this year is no exception. This season's numbers are not too far off from monarch count numbers in 2014, when Endangered Species Act protection was sought for this species, with the support of many of the leading monarch researchers. It's imperative that this positive news is also met with the understanding that the population has declined significantly since the 1980s, when western monarchs numbered in the low millions. There continues to be very little meaningful protection for the species or its habitat; overwintering sites in particular continue to be destroyed and damaged each year.  </span><a href="https://xerces.org/western-monarch-call-to-action" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Continued advocacy, action and support</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> are needed now and well into the future. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">To learn more about the annual western monarch count effort, visit </span><a href="http://westernmonarchcount.org/" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">WesternMonarchCount.org</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span><font size="1"><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">* </span><span style="font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Reminder: The Xerces Society will announce the official Thanksgiving Count and New Year's Count results in late January, 2023, once all data have been submitted and vetted. Count updates shared prior to the official announcements are not comprehensive and do not represent the final tally.</span></font></p><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span><font color="#000000"><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:700;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Isis Howard</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:13.3333px;white-space:pre-wrap">Endangered Species </span><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:13.3333px;white-space:pre-wrap">Conservation Biologist</span></font></p><p style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:13.3333px;white-space:pre-wrap">Western Monarch Community Science</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(32,33,36);line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Pronouns: </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">she/her/hers</span></font></p><p style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.368;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">Remote Office: Marin County, CA</font></span></p><p style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.368;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">Cell: (503) 212-0546</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(32,33,36);line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><span style="border:none;display:inline-block;overflow:hidden;width:160px;height:60px"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Lqe0ZG77W4XT3YiiAwKHCopj51BHCdUYYYp3oAmXwUowOCPPQauzN8tr9PyEuZN2jICDvT_e2QTtDSG7WY04-qajJ31fW6MNgL4Mi9EOlXemiF6-gZLo6v3-5pqNSyxg_AFsuKWI=s0" width="160" height="60" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;white-space:pre-wrap"><i><br></i></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;white-space:pre-wrap"><i><b>Protecting the Life That Sustains Us</b></i></span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.368;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Connect with us on</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/xercessociety/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Facebook</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">,</span><a href="https://twitter.com/xercessociety" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">, </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/xercessociety/?hl=en" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Instagram</span></a>, </font><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAiPLPJuySOgn6CbjkOxqLQ" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">YouTube</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.368;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Visit</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a href="http://xerces.org/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">xerces.org</a></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> to read our</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a href="https://xerces.org/blog" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">blog</a></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"> and</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> sign up for our</span><a href="https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001HTk7N6nZumLPinBr8VACbNdTXCe732bGu6KpqC13JAKPti_HBe5xyr7t0p4mDfKe2dOsd-TB1qvv772s6GQfVa_SbKKfwBiwl4blH4KvCjq4dpmA2M9UNZ2axlQwu_1Gvjrl2Rb53WUZwsddwCzyorgxedLAaMy3" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">e-newsletter</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.368;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Support our work: </span><a href="https://secure.qgiv.com/for/xerces" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Donate</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">!</span></p></font></span></div></div></div>
</div><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span><font color="#000000"><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:700;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Isis Howard</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:13.3333px;white-space:pre-wrap">Endangered Species </span><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:13.3333px;white-space:pre-wrap">Conservation Biologist</span></font></p><p style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:13.3333px;white-space:pre-wrap">Western Monarch Community Science</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(32,33,36);line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Pronouns: </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">she/her/hers</span></font></p><p style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.368;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">Remote Office: Marin County, CA</font></span></p><p style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.368;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">Cell: (503) 212-0546</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(32,33,36);line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><span style="border:none;display:inline-block;overflow:hidden;width:160px;height:60px"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Lqe0ZG77W4XT3YiiAwKHCopj51BHCdUYYYp3oAmXwUowOCPPQauzN8tr9PyEuZN2jICDvT_e2QTtDSG7WY04-qajJ31fW6MNgL4Mi9EOlXemiF6-gZLo6v3-5pqNSyxg_AFsuKWI=s0" width="160" height="60" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;white-space:pre-wrap"><i><br></i></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;white-space:pre-wrap"><i><b>Protecting the Life That Sustains Us</b></i></span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.368;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Connect with us on</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/xercessociety/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Facebook</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">,</span><a href="https://twitter.com/xercessociety" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">, </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/xercessociety/?hl=en" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Instagram</span></a>, </font><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAiPLPJuySOgn6CbjkOxqLQ" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">YouTube</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.368;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Visit</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a href="http://xerces.org/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">xerces.org</a></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> to read our</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a href="https://xerces.org/blog" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">blog</a></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"> and</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> sign up for our</span><a href="https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001HTk7N6nZumLPinBr8VACbNdTXCe732bGu6KpqC13JAKPti_HBe5xyr7t0p4mDfKe2dOsd-TB1qvv772s6GQfVa_SbKKfwBiwl4blH4KvCjq4dpmA2M9UNZ2axlQwu_1Gvjrl2Rb53WUZwsddwCzyorgxedLAaMy3" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">e-newsletter</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.368;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Support our work: </span><a href="https://secure.qgiv.com/for/xerces" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Donate</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">!</span></p></font></span></div></div></div>
</blockquote></div></div>