Conservation Efforts to Protect Monarch Butterflies in California

The Xerces Society California Monarch Campaign is working to protect Monarch groves in California and to educate the public about these important habitats:

Educating the public on the importance of protecting Monarchs and their habitat;
Supporting annual citizen counts of Monarchs organized by Mia Monroe (download the results of western monarch counts from 1997-2006, provided by Dennis Frey);
Updating our publication Conservation And Management Guidelines For Preserving Monarch Butterfly Migration And Overwintering Habitat In California to contain the latest information on California Monarch conservation;
Organizing a Monarch symposium at the Entomological Society of America's Pacific Branch Meeting (2005); view abstracts from this symposium;
Providing information on the importance of Monarch conservation to the California Coast Commission while they are updating local coastal plans;
Partnering with individual grove managers to complete management plans; and
Promoting Protection and restoration of patches of native milkweed throughout the West.

What you can do to help Monarchs

Plant native milkweed and nectar sources and encourage local businesses, friends, and vineyards to do the same.
Help protect small natural areas that support milkweed patches or overwintering sites.
Contact the California Coast Commission and let them know that Monarchs are an important resource that need to be protected.
Donate to the Xerces Society and earmark your funds for the California Monarch Campaign.

For more information on the Xerces Society California Monarch Campaign, contact Mia Monroe at (415) 388-2596 or muirmia 'at' aol.com.

Many other groups are also doing great work to protect specific groves or helping with other aspects of Monarch conservation. Please click here to find out more.