After hundreds of volunteers and partners came together to count overwintering monarch butterflies in California, the 28th annual Western Monarch Count reported a near-record low since tracking began in 1997. The count of 9,119 butterflies this winter is a sharp decline from 200,000 reported in the past three years, but slightly up from 2,000 monarch reported in 2020.
While there are a variety of threats to the species, monarch butterflies are currently seeking protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
“The population’s size is extremely concerning,” Emma Pelton, an endangered species biologist with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, said. “We know small populations are especially vulnerable to environmental fluctuations, and we think that’s what happened this year. The record high late summer temperatures and drought in the West likely contributed to the significant drop-off we saw in the third and fourth breeding generations.”
Some major threats to monarch butterflies include “pesticides, habitat loss, and increasingly severe weather exacerbated by climate change,” along with the fires in Los Angeles County, which “burned tree groves where monarchs overwinter, including a site in Lower Topanga Canyon,” according to a press release.
According to the Western Monarch Count, the largest overwintering clusters this year were counted in Santa Cruz County with 3,451 monarch butterflies observed at various locations. Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove in San Luis Obispo was the fourth largest with 556 monarch butterflies. The Bay Area’s Skywest Golf Course came in fifth with 477 monarchs. Some other sites with a notable amount of monarchs counted included the Pacific Grove Butterfly Sanctuary in Monterey County with 228 and the University of California Gill Tract Community Farm in Alameda with 196.
Under federal policy when finalized, endangered species protection will provide monarch butterflies with more support, focus and incentives for breeding habitat restoration in California.
“A lot of people care about monarchs. Voluntary efforts like pollinator gardens and restoring habitat are probably a reason they aren’t in worse shape,” Isis Howard, coordinator of the Western Monarch Count with the Xerces Society, said. “However, these actions are not enough. To help monarchs recover, we need to work at a larger scale and address widespread issues like pesticide contamination and climate change that are beyond what voluntary efforts have been able to achieve.”
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