Join the Xerces Society and the Gold Ridge and Sonoma Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) for this 1.5 hour webinar that will explore migratory western monarch conservation in Marin, Sonoma, and Mendocino County coastal areas. Hear from three monarch butterfly experts as they discuss the increasingly important role of California’s northern overwintering groves and how coastal communities can take action to protect and restore critical monarch habitat. This webinar will build upon the growing awareness of the western monarch crisis to engage public and private land managers in overwintering grove protection and conservation efforts, inspire participation in monarch community science projects, and recommend key action steps towards recovering western monarchs in the three counties. Speakers will include Emma Pelton, Senior Endangered Species Conservation Biologist with the Xerces Society, Mia Monroe, cofounder and volunteer coordinator of the annual Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count, and Dr. Stu Weiss, Chief Scientist and cofounder of Creekside Center for Earth Observation.
Click here for more information and to register.
Speakers:
Emma Pelton
Senior Endangered Species Conservation Biologist, Western Monarch Lead
The Xerces Society
As the Xerces Society's western monarch lead, Emma works on the western population of monarch butterflies, including adaptive management of overwintering habitat in California and breeding habitat throughout the western U.S. Emma completed a master's degree in agroecology and entomology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison where her research focused on landscape ecology and an invasive fly that affects fruit crops. Previously, Emma worked at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources–Endangered Resources program as a biologist and on organic vegetable farms in southern Wisconsin.
Mia Monroe
Co-founder and Volunteer Coordinator Western Monarch Count Volunteer
Mia Monroe is a Xerces Society volunteer assisting with coordination of the Western Monarch Counts. She has been involved for nearly four decades in monarch conservation and education, helped start the counts esp with a solid community science role (25 years this year!). She is a national park service ranger in Marin County's Muir Woods and GGNRA.
Stuart B. Weiss
Chief Scientist
Creekside Center for Earth Observation
Stu has wide-ranging research experience in conservation and population biology, microclimate characterization, and statistical analysis. He worked for over fifteen years at the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University, has authored more than 25 scientific publications, and has served as principal investigator for more than 50 grants and contracts (US Fish and Wildlife Service, California Energy Commission, Silicon Valley Land Conservancy, etc.).
