[Pollinator] Western Monarch Count Tallies 233, 394 Overwintering Butterflies

[Matthew Shepherd]

*Press release*
English (also pasted below):
https://xerces.org/press/western-monarch-count-tallies-233394-butterflies
Spanish:
https://xerces.org/press/el-conteo-de-la-mariposa-monarca-occidenta-registro-233394-mariposas

*Blog announcement*
English:
https://xerces.org/blog/western-monarch-count-tallies-233394-butterflies
Spanish:
https://xerces.org/blog/el-conteo-de-la-mariposa-monarca-occidental-registro-233394-mariposas


-----------------------------
Western Monarch Count Tallies 233,394 Butterflies
<https://xerces.org/press/western-monarch-count-tallies-233394-butterflies>

Embargoed until 10AM PST, January 30, 2024

*Contacts:*

Emma Pelton, Senior Endangered Species Conservation Biologist. Western
Monarch Lead, Xerces Society; 503-212-0706; emma.pelton at xerces.org
Isis Howard, Endangered Species Conservation Biologist, Western Monarch
Community Science, Xerces Society; 503-212-0546; isis.howard at xerces.org


*Portland, Ore. Jan. 30, 2024*—Much anticipated each year, results of the
27th annual Western Monarch Count <https://westernmonarchcount.org/> have
been released by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
<https://xerces.org/>. Scientists and volunteers counted a total of 233,394
butterflies at 256 overwintering sites to track the threatened butterfly’s
population levels. The count is slightly lower than last year’s total of
over 330,000 butterflies, and remains at just 5% of their population
numbers in the 1980s, when low millions
<https://www.xerces.org/blog/current-status-of-western-monarch-butterflies-by-numbers>
were
common.

“Last year’s winter storms meant we entered the spring breeding season with
fewer butterflies and saw lower numbers this summer, so it is not
surprising that the overwintering population is down,” said Emma Pelton, a
monarch conservation biologist with the Xerces Society. “It’s difficult to
predict how conditions during any single year will influence the
population, but we do know that western monarch numbers need to be much
higher before we consider this a recovery.”

The western monarch population is geographically distinct from eastern
monarchs that migrate from eastern Canada and the United States to central
Mexico each year, and instead tracks butterflies migrating from the western
U.S. and Canada to coastal California and northern Baja, Mexico, as well as
small interior sites in California’s Saline Valley and the Phoenix area.
Like their eastern counterparts, the migration takes place over multiple
generations of butterflies, with the final generation overwintering in
large clusters sheltered in groves of trees.

Central Coast hosts the largest overwintering sites

The largest count at a single location was 33,080 monarchs at an
overwintering site in Santa Barbara County owned by The Nature Conservancy.
The site hosted the largest number of butterflies in 2022 as well, and is
not open to the public. The second largest count was 16,038 monarchs at the
Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove, followed by 10,029 at the Morro
Bay Golf Course in San Luis Obispo County.

High counts for other popular sites included (listed from north to south):

   - 305 butterflies at Albany Hill in Alameda County
   - 1,093 at the Monarch Bay Golf Course in San Leandro County
   - 10,000 at Lighthouse Field State Beach in Santa Cruz County
   - 6,500 at Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz County
   - 6,547 at the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary in Monterey County
   - 15,206 across the Ellwood Mesa complex (multiple sites) in Santa
   Barbara County
   - 319 at Camino Real Park in Ventura County

Additionally, participants identified four newly-recognized monarch
overwintering sites, plus a handful of potential sites which will be
surveyed again next season.

More than 400 volunteers joined this year’s monarch count

Coordinated by the Xerces Society and partners across the western U.S.,
more than 400 volunteers joined the effort this year, rising early to count
clustered butterflies for the Thanksgiving period that ran November 11
through December 3, when overwintering numbers are typically at their peak.

"Volunteers and partners are the heartbeat of the Western Monarch Count
community science effort,” says Isis Howard, who coordinates the count for
the Xerces Society. “They embody a collective commitment to the
conservation of western monarch butterflies."

Notably, a visitor to the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary in Monterey
County, California, spotted a butterfly that had been tagged by the Southwest
Monarch Study <https://swmonarchs.org/> in northern Utah, meaning it had
traveled over 700 miles.

Western monarchs remain imperiled

Despite ongoing efforts to preserve their migration, western monarchs face
significant challenges, including habitat destruction, pesticide exposure,
and extreme weather exacerbated by climate change. Some population
fluctuation is normal, but the overall trend continues to be below historic
norms. When invertebrate populations are in decline, it’s common to witness
populations fluctuate year to year
<https://www.xerces.org/blog/bounciness-of-butterflies>.

“There is still very little meaningful protection for migratory monarch
butterflies and their overwintering habitat,” said Pelton. “Hopefully, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s upcoming listing decision under the
federal Endangered Species Act will provide protection to the important
places that monarchs rely on each winter.”

When populations are low, small changes in factors like temperature,
rainfall, predation and availability of milkweed and nectar resources can
strongly influence each generation’s survival rates. The newly formed Western
Monarch Overwintering Science Initiative
<https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/eb67e9c975994de8a17b95e8290858be>
(M.O.S.I)
will be looking deeper at these factors, including tracking the butterflies
and studying conditions at overwintering sites.

Everyone can take action to protect western monarchs and other wildlife. To
get started:

   - View the Western Monarch Call to Action
   <https://xerces.org/western-monarch-call-to-action> to learn more about
   priority zones and actions.
   - Plant native milkweed <https://xerces.org/milkweed> and nectar plants
   <https://xerces.org/monarchs/monarch-nectar-plant-guides> in your garden
   and community spaces. (Milkweed should not be planted in overwintering
   zones.)
   - Reduce or avoid herbicide and insecticide use
   <https://xerces.org/pesticides>, especially systemic insecticides.
   - Share your knowledge <https://xerces.org/education> and passion for
   monarch conservation with friends and family.
   - Volunteer <https://xerces.org/community-science> for a community
   science effort or local conservation cause.
   - Take the Pollinator Protection Pledge
   <https://www.xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/pollinator-protection-pledge>
to
   commit to working every day to protect pollinators and their habitats.



# # #

*About the Western Monarch Count*

The Western Monarch Count (WMC) is a community science effort to collect
data on western monarchs and their habitat during the overwintering season,
which occurs from approximately October to March. The Thanksgiving count is
the first of two official survey periods during the season, and it usually
captures the height of clustering monarchs. The WMC is managed by the
Xerces Society and count co-founder, Mia Monroe. Participants follow a
standard protocol to  survey overwintering habitat and estimate the number
of butterflies in coastal California as well as northern Baja, Mexico and
the greater Phoenix, AZ area. Data from the WMC are used to improve our
understanding of the western monarch population status and their
conservation needs.

*Acknowledgements*

A huge thank you to the hundreds of dedicated volunteers who collected data
at overwintering sites. And, thank you to our western monarch conservation
funders, who make this work possible: California Department of Fish and
Wildlife, California State Parks Foundation, California Wildlife
Conservation Board, Google.org, U.S. Forest Service International Programs,
The Marion R. Weber Family Fund, Monarch Joint Venture, National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, The Taggart Saxon
Schubert Fund, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDOI Bureau of
Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Xerces Society members.
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