[Pollinator] Fwd: [MJV-Stakeholders] Fwd: New Reports Reveal Decline in Monarch Population

Tue Mar 21 13:26:02 PDT 2023

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From: WWF News <news at wwfus.org>
Date: Tue, Mar 21, 2023 at 1:35 PM
Subject: New Reports Reveal Decline in Monarch Population

Continued population decline and habitat degradation impacting the species
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MARCH 21, 2023
*New Reports Reveal Monarch Population Decline and Habitat Degradation*

*WWF-Mexico and its partners today released two new reports related to the
population and winter habitat of the Eastern migratory monarch butterfly.
Together, they highlight a difficult year for the species, with one showing
a continued population decline and the second revealing increased forest
degradation where most monarchs cluster in colonies during the winter.*

According to the annual survey, *Forest Area Occupied by Monarch
Butterflies Colonies in Mexico During the 2022-2023 Hibernation Season*
<https://worldwildlife.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=435b4fe2ae0258b059af0d948&id=230cd9ee2e&e=ab2990007f>,
the presence of monarchs in their wintering grounds in Mexico decreased by
22% when compared to last winter, down from 7.02 acres to 5.46 acres this
winter.  The annual WWF-Mexico-led survey measures the area of forest in
which monarch butterflies hibernate each winter, providing a scientifically
robust indicator of their population status.

The second report, *Forest Degradation at the Core Zone of the Monarch
Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (2021-2022)
<https://worldwildlife.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=435b4fe2ae0258b059af0d948&id=155857e6a4&e=ab2990007f>*
*,* found that 145 acres of forest have been degraded, a significant
increase when compared to the 46.53 acres lost in the previous period
(2020-2021). According to the analysis, sanitation cutting – the removal or
pruning of trees to prevent spreading disease or insects -- was the main
cause of forest degradation accounting for 71 acres, followed by forest
fires (37.36 acres), and illegal logging (33.13 acres).

WWF-Mexico’s General Director Jorge Rickards said that the population
decrease reflects the instability that the migratory phenomenon faces. “The
reduction of breeding habitat in the United States due to the use of
herbicides and land use changes, forest degradation in the wintering sites
in Mexico, and extreme weather conditions in all terrestrial ecosystems of
the continent."

The Eastern population of the migratory monarch butterfly has seriously
declined over the last 25 years. In the winter of 1995-96, monarchs covered
nearly 45 acres of forests. Since then, while numbers have fluctuated up
and down, there continues to be a downward trend.

Rickards called on Canada, Mexico, and the United States to continue
coordinated efforts to preserve the monarch’s migratory flyway in the US
and Canada, as well as in the monarch’s hibernation sites in Mexico. “It is
not just about conserving a species, it’s also about conserving a unique
migratory phenomenon in nature. Monarchs contribute to healthy and diverse
terrestrial ecosystems across North America as they carry pollen from one
plant to another. With 80% of agricultural food production depending on
pollinators like Monarchs, when people help the species, we are also
helping ourselves.”

Every year Eastern monarch butterflies travel up to 2,800 miles from Canada
and the US to their overwintering sites in the forests of Michoacán and the
State of Mexico, where the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) is
located. Monarchs require a large and healthy forest mass to protect them
from winds, rain, and low temperatures that are common at night in these
forests.

In addition to providing monarchs the right microclimate conditions for
hibernation, the MBBR’s forests are one of the main freshwater contributors
to the Cutzamala Hydrological System that provides water to more than 5
million people in Mexico City and its metropolitan area. Furthermore, these
forest ecosystems are an important reservoir of biodiversity as they are
home to 132 species of birds, 56 species of mammals, 432 species of
vascular plants and 211 species of fungi.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Monica Echeverria-Cota
Monica.Echeverria at wwfus.org

*About World Wildlife Fund (WWF)*
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and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and
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-- 
Wendy Caldwell (she/her)
Executive Director
Monarch Joint Venture
www.monarchjointventure.org
Ph: (o) (612) 208-3741 (c) 320-226-6507

*The Monarch Joint Venture is a national partnership of federal and state
agencies, non-governmental organizations, businesses and academic programs
working together to conserve the monarch butterfly migration. The content
in this email does not necessarily reflect the positions of all Monarch
Joint Venture partners.*

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-- 

Kelly Bills (formerly, Kelly Rourke) *she/her*

Executive Director

Pollinator Partnership

600 Montgomery St. Ste 440

San Francisco, CA 94111

e:  kelly at pollinator.org

w:  www.pollinator.org

o:  415-362-1137

c: 585-255-0962

**My new email address is kelly at pollinator.org <kelly at pollinator.org>*

<https://www.pollinator.org/pollinator-week>
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