Each fall the monarch butterfly travels thousands of miles to spend the winter in the forests on 12 mountaintops in central Mexico. The monarch migration is the most spectacular two-way migration carried out by an insect.
The forests provide unique microclimatic conditions that allow monarchs to survive the winter. Forest degradation is putting this amazing migration in peril.
MBF is meeting the challenge of preserving monarch butterflies and their spectacular migration through our conservation strategy that fosters healthy ecosystems and sustainable communities through Partnerships, Forest Conservation, Scientific Research and Monitoring, Education and Outreach, and Sustainable Development.
In the Spotlight
This past February, MBF Board member, Dr. Lincoln Brower visited the Piedra Herrada monarch colony in the State of México with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Dr. Brower had the opportunity to talk extensively with President Carter who asked incisive questions and was concerned about the numbers of butterflies going down this year. Dr. Brower explained that bad weather in the summer of 2012 had impacted the breeding, that logging in México had deteriorated overwintering conditions in many areas, and that the genetically engineered herbicide-resistant corn and soybean crops are eliminating milkweed and nectaring habitats on an unprecedented scale where most of the monarchs breed in the Midwestern United States.
President Carter’s visit was a great opportunity to spread the word about the monarch’s plight and Dr. Brower did a wonderful job as a tour guide!
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