[Pollinator] Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count surpasses 300, 000 butterflies and counting

[Matthew Shepherd]

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!

Matthew

________

*Matthew Shepherd*
Director of Outreach & Education
*he/him/his*


*THE XERCES SOCIETYfor Invertebrate Conservation*


The Xerces Society's Western Monarch Count: Mid-Season Update, December 2022
>
> 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 The Xerces Society <https://xerces.org/> plans to
> share the final total in late January 2023, once all data have been
> compiled and vetted.
>
>
>
> 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. (See
> more publicly-accessible sites
> <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>
> ).
>
>
>
> 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.
>
>
>
> 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.  Continued
> advocacy, action and support
> <https://xerces.org/western-monarch-call-to-action> are needed now and
> well into the future.
>
>
>
> To learn more about the annual western monarch count effort, visit
> WesternMonarchCount.org <http://westernmonarchcount.org/>.
>
>
> * 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.
>
> --
>
> Isis Howard
>
> Endangered Species Conservation Biologist
>
> Western Monarch Community Science
>
> Pronouns: she/her/hers
>
> Remote Office: Marin County, CA
>
> Cell: (503) 212-0546
>
>
>
> *Protecting the Life That Sustains Us*
>
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>
> Visit xerces.org to read our blog <https://xerces.org/blog> and sign up
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> <https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001HTk7N6nZumLPinBr8VACbNdTXCe732bGu6KpqC13JAKPti_HBe5xyr7t0p4mDfKe2dOsd-TB1qvv772s6GQfVa_SbKKfwBiwl4blH4KvCjq4dpmA2M9UNZ2axlQwu_1Gvjrl2Rb53WUZwsddwCzyorgxedLAaMy3>
> .
>
> Support our work: Donate <https://secure.qgiv.com/for/xerces>!
>
>
> --
>
> Isis Howard
>
> Endangered Species Conservation Biologist
>
> Western Monarch Community Science
>
> Pronouns: she/her/hers
>
> Remote Office: Marin County, CA
>
> Cell: (503) 212-0546
>
>
>
> *Protecting the Life That Sustains Us*
>
> Connect with us on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/xercessociety/>,
> Twitter <https://twitter.com/xercessociety>, Instagram
> <https://www.instagram.com/xercessociety/?hl=en>, YouTube
> <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAiPLPJuySOgn6CbjkOxqLQ>.
>
> Visit xerces.org to read our blog <https://xerces.org/blog> and sign up
> for our e-newsletter
> <https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001HTk7N6nZumLPinBr8VACbNdTXCe732bGu6KpqC13JAKPti_HBe5xyr7t0p4mDfKe2dOsd-TB1qvv772s6GQfVa_SbKKfwBiwl4blH4KvCjq4dpmA2M9UNZ2axlQwu_1Gvjrl2Rb53WUZwsddwCzyorgxedLAaMy3>
> .
>
> Support our work: Donate <https://secure.qgiv.com/for/xerces>!
>
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