[Pollinator] Mid-season Western Monarch Count set to be second lowest tally since 1997

[Isis Howard]

Happy new year, and welcome back from holiday vacation! Here are a few
public updates from the Xerces Society's <https://xerces.org/> Western
Monarch Count <https://westernmonarchcount.org/> -- a community-powered
initiative to track overwintering western monarchs and their habitat:

*Western Monarch Count e**nters its final week of surveys*
Western Monarch Count (WMC) <https://westernmonarchcount.org/>participants
have entered their final week of surveys, with the late-season count
wrapping up on Sunday, January 12, 2025. Survey dates and
project information can be viewed on the WMC website linked above.

*Preliminary "mid-season" findings*
The WMC tally for the mid-season survey period (formerly called
"Thanksgiving count"), which ran from Nov 16 - Dec 8, 2024, is nearly
finalized. Preliminary numbers confirm that this overwintering season will
have the second lowest mid-season count tally since 1997 when the WMC
effort began. The Fall 2020 overwintering season remains the lowest year on
record (past year's data can be viewed here)
<https://westernmonarchcount.org/data/>.

   - *Top overwintering sites (mid-season 2024): *Santa Cruz County's
   Natural Bridges and Lighthouse Field State Parks remain top monarch
   overwintering sites
   <https://westernmonarchcount.org/map-of-overwintering-sites/> for the
   mid-season count (similar to the early-season) and are the only two sites
   with monarch counts over 1,000 butterflies (1,406 monarchs observed at
   Lighthouse Field, and 1,400 observed at Natural Bridges). In previous
   years, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties typically hosted the
   largest clusters.
   - *Monarch count tally (mid-season 2024)*: Numbers are still being
   finalized, but the preliminary mid-season tally is hovering just over 9,000
   monarchs. Initial early-season
   <https://westernmonarchcount.org/early-monitoring-in-california-reveals-a-low-overwintering-population-fall-2024/>
   data suggested around 7,000 monarchs (assume all numbers are approximate).
   These findings show a slight increase between the early and mid-season
   counts, which is to be expected. Numbers are now expected to drop back down
   as the overwintering season progresses.

*Volunteer Effort (Fall 2024-25 WMC, all count periods): *Despite low
monarch numbers this season, more than 800 monarch count surveys + 100
habitat assessments have been submitted so far, with hundreds more on the
way or scheduled to be conducted in the coming week(s). The Xerces Society
is incredibly grateful for all those who participate and support this
initiative; a huge THANK YOU to the WMC's funders, volunteers, regional
coordinators, conservation partners, and other supporters. You all are
incredible!!

*What's Next?*
Xerces will publish the finalized WMC data and a bilingual press release in
a few weeks once the data review process is complete. Xerces will also hold
a public webinar to announce the detailed findings. More information will
be available soon. Follow along at WesternMonarchCount.org.

Warm regards,
Isis

-- 

Isis Howard (she/her)
Conservation Biologist
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
503.212.0546 | isis.howard at xerces.org

xerces.org <https://www.xerces.org/>
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