“This population has declined by over 99 percent.' As recently as the 1980s, millions of monarch butterflies from the western U.S. fluttered to the California coast to hole up for the winter. This season, there are only 29,000 left. (KQEDscience)
Each fall, monarch butterflies from across the western United States flutter their way to the California coast to hole up for the winter. Mild temperatures, abundant nectar and protection offered by coastal forests have historically made California an ideal place for monarchs to survive into spring, and the majority of the population west of the Rocky Mountains make the annual trip to the state.
. This year's estimate, released last week, stands at about 29,000 monarchs, just above last year’s all-time low. and essential to their survival. The new generation will help populate areas from California to the Rockies.“That first generation that’s born in the new year in California is really the generation that’s going to continue the migration.” Pelton said. “They’re going to populate the western United States.”“California’s the only place in the U.S. where monarchs spend the winter in large numbers and that is worth protecting,” Pelton said.Samantha Marcum, a biologist with the U.S.
One major reason for the drastically reduced numbers, she says, is the loss of coastal forest groves, where monarchs can safely roost in the winter months, and their shrinking springtime breeding habitat, due to land development, forest management practices and wildfire.
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