"The Western monarch butterfly is disappearing before our eyes. The number of graceful, black-and-orange winged insects overwintering in coastal California this year dropped to under 2,000, compared with more than 29,000 the year before. And that was already a fraction of its previous population.
While dire, the butterflies’ dramatic decline has led to an urgent response: a $1 million state-funded project to rebuild habitat for Western monarchs on over 600 acres in eight locations in a variety of ecosystems. Organizers say it’s the largest coordinated effort to save the Western monarch, which spends winters in coastal California, migrates to Central California to breed and then can travel as far as Idaho and Washington and back.
Working with other conservation groups and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the organization River Partners is planting more than 30,000 native milkweed plants — the only vegetation monarch adults lay their eggs on and that their caterpillars eat — to give the butterflies new spots to breed and fuel up for migration."
Tara Duggan reports for the San Francisco Chronicle May 31, 2021.
SEE ALSO:
"Milkweed Planted In California To Help Monarch Butterflies" (AP)
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