PRESERVING THE MAJESTY OF MONARCH BUTTERFLIES
Each year, hundreds of thousands of monarch butterflies sweep into the states of Michoacan and Mexico. There, in the mountainous peaks, they alight upon the Oyamel fir trees that dot the landscape. From November until mid-March, they reside in those high altitude forests until their journey back north in the spring.
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The Majestic Migration
The migration of these monarchs inspires awe. They travel thousands of miles every year – from eastern and central Canada as well as from the eastern and Midwestern United States all the way down into Mexico. It is a distance that can cover up to 3,000 miles one way. What is even more mystifying is that it takes just one generation of the species to make this long journey.
At the end of winter, they leave Mexico . Like a paper fan, the butterflies spread out from Texas back to their breeding grounds in Canada and the United States. Unlike the southern migration, it takes multiple generations to make the journey back north, often stopping over at different sites that contain milkweed. Monarchs depend on the milkweed plant throughout their life cycle.
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Concern for Species Survival
Monarchs are not an endangered species. However, the loss of habitat on the wintering grounds and in the breeding areas is a continuing concern. In fact, not only could it severely affect the migration of the monarchs, it could threaten its population.
Current land use practices in the United States and in northern Mexico are degrading the pathways. There are fewer nectar resources available, and hence, fewer suitable stopover sites. Furthermore, in Canada and the United States, land use and farming practices (i.e. that utilize pesticides and herbicide resistant crops are unfriendly to milkweed). In the over wintering areas, habitat is threatened by deforestation and pressure exerted by human settlements, like in areas around the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. There, local communities greatly depend on both the Monarch and the forests for their livelihood and identity.
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Preserving the Monarch Phenomena: US Forest Service and Conservation
Many people look forward to catch a glimpse of this migration wonder. Given the distance that the Monarch covers during its annual flight and the awe it evokes, preservation of the migratory phenomena is crucial. It depends on the conservation of many habitats along the flyway and on a strong collaboration across Canada , United States and Mexico. Partnership between conservation organizations, researchers, and government agencies in all three countries is advancing this mission.
Example of Conservation Activities
The US Forest Service has been involved in ensuring the survival of this species and protecting its flyway for many years.
- Since 1993, the US Forest Service has been working with partners to build management capacity, to provide guidance to communities for resource management, and to conserve natural resources in the highly protected core zone of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico . Staff from the Willamette National Forest and other units has provided training and consultations to the Reserve on forest inventory, GPS/GIS utilization, and design and maintenance of trails. The Forest Service also collaborated with local non-governmental organizations and communities in areas near the reserve.
- Through a partnership with the Monarch Model Forest in Mexico , partners developed proposals to help the Model Forest with recreation management, landscape ecology, small-scale wood product development and marketing, and community incentive programs. Working with local communities adjacent to the Monarch Butterfly sanctuaries, project participants worked to reforest lands using native tree species-with the long-term goal of establishing alternative sites for extracting wood. Apart from reforestation, the Model Forest and its partners have worked on recreation and eco-tourism
.
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Bonding Over Butterflies: A North American Approach to Conservation
The US Forest Service is taking an integrated approach to monarch conservation by working at the North America scale. In December 2006, the US Forest Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, US Agency for International Development, The Wildlife Trust and the City of McAllen, Texas, hosted a Monarch Flyway Conservation Workshop in Mission, Texas.
The workshop brought together participants from Canada , Mexico and the United States to discuss breeding, migration and wintering, and mechanisms for increased collaboration and leveraging of resources through the development of public-private partnerships. The group also discussed the potential for a "joint venture like" approach to Monarch conservation. As a direct result of the workshop, a 9 member team has been convened to develop a Tri-National Comprehensive Monarch Plan that will address education and outreach, capacity building, and community involvement.
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