<div dir="ltr"><div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">Following efforts by hundreds of volunteers and partners to count overwintering monarch butterflies in California, the 28th annual Western Monarch Count has reported a </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:bold">peak population of just 9,119 butterflies this winter</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">. This is the second lowest overwintering population ever recorded since tracking began in 1997 and coincides with monarch butterflies be</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">ing </span><a href="https://tnjebhdab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0010dqkrRga1hOTZyUWHj1LKceeqrnsPyYgo5EgPjwK7j-1D7Mgsme-49cMRQMme2hBhAuA8El8CnqTkHXoN2ZSM8gbpkHE-POBPIpE09ZqvCXvXHg9hdCbiVVmcVgg_Kce_aQTI6ituNd0NTJlrP4_1KApGrJ-9ucbT6e5XFOmxCXhA76yZwvjoc7hskX0dVVSFq47asyIBpy3PSquchrJbbLrTkvzLK7zWG_RAUMJiiDB1RZhbukvuivPMzgjeFIFYabYL2bLd-Y=&c=HTKpq3gYbPGhhF15FahMqQ5OTYA9qI84aZGMm2CJkoR3Y7QQNZuuOw==&ch=NrOJFuNtJKda0Z2dQWVHFpm-gmnhc4Tw-SmubB3j9Z6_V_9IbLQEYw==" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(0,112,121)">proposed for protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act</a></font></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration-line:underline"><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></span></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000">Read the press announcement in English here: </font><a href="https://xerces.org/press/western-monarch-butterfly-population-declines-to-near-record-low" target="_blank">https://xerces.org/press/western-monarch-butterfly-population-declines-to-near-record-low</a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"> and in Spanish here: </span><a href="https://xerces.org/press/la-poblacion-de-mariposas-monarca-occidentales-disminuye-hasta-alcanzar-un-minimo-casi" target="_blank">https://xerces.org/press/la-poblacion-de-mariposas-monarca-occidentales-disminuye-hasta-alcanzar-un-minimo-casi</a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"> </span></font></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></span></div><div><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><font face="arial, sans-serif">The Xerces Society invites you to join our public letter advocating for strong federal protections for the monarch butterfly. <span style="font-weight:bold">Please take a moment to add your name to our letter</span> which we will submit with the names of all co-signers to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: <span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="https://win.newmode.net/xerces-fws-monarch" target="_blank">https://win.newmode.net/xerces-fws-monarch</a></span></font></p></div></div><div><br></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><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="color:rgb(28,28,28);font-family:"Source Sans 3",Arial;font-weight:700">Isis Howard </span><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28);font-family:"Source Sans 3"">(she/her)</span><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28);font-family:"Source Sans 3",Arial;font-weight:700"><br></span><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28);font-family:"Source Sans 3"">Conservation Biologist</span><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28);font-family:"Source Sans 3""><br></span><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28);font-family:"Source Sans 3"">The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation</span><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28);font-family:"Source Sans 3""><br></span><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28);font-family:"Source Sans 3"">503.212.0546 | </span><a href="mailto:isis.howard@xerces.org" style="font-family:"Source Sans 3"" target="_blank">isis.howard@xerces.org</a><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(34,34,34);line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://www.xerces.org/" style="outline:0px;font-family:"Source Sans 3"" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,121)">xerces.org</span></a><br></p></font></span></div></div></div>