Spotlight

José Luis Gallardo, Dr. Cuauhtémoc Sáenz collaborator in the assisted migration research, presented a video showing the use of drones to monitor the damage caused by climate change in the MBBR. MBF is supporting this valuable research that is helping improve conservation efforts.

MBF granted graduate student Grace Thomas from the University of University of Nebraska at Omaha and undergraduate student Fernanda Naomi Shimizu Romero from the Faculty of Higher Studies Zaragoza of the National Autonomous University of México (UNAM) the “Lincoln P. Brower Award” in May 2023.

Grace’s project will compare and quantify grazing impacts on milkweed densities and juvenile monarch abundances among bison-grazed, cattle-grazed, and ungrazed lands. Her research will help us determine whether bison grazing may have fewer negative effects than cattle grazing on milkweeds.

Naomi’s research will assess the changes in the soil properties between the restoration and conservation zones to determine whether soil quality has improved in an area that was illegally logged and restored. The results of this soil analysis will help inform how well conservation efforts are doing in the MBBR.

Alternare Celebrates Their 25th Anniversary

On April 27, our partner Alternare held an event in Mexico City at which they celebrated 25 years of working for monarch conservation. Among the accomplishments they shared with their guests was  the incredible reforestation of 290 hectares with almost 320,000 trees with the support of 20 local communities within the MBBR! For this summer, Alternare’s efforts continue, and they are planning to plant 29,700 trees in 27 hectares within the MBBR with the participation of eight communities. Congratulations to Alternare!

Monarch butterfly counts were released today, March 21, 2023 and the numbers indicate that during the 2022-2023 overwintering season butterflies occupied 2.21 hectares of the forest, 22% less than in the previous year. To read an article written by our board member, Karen Oberhauser about what is currently happening with the monarchs click here.  The press release from WWF can be found  here and a news release from the Monarch Joint Venture  here. Sobering news that prompts all of us to re-double our efforts to protect the monarch’s habitat in North America.

 

Board member Ek del Val and her students went to explore the monarch colonies at Sierra Chincua on February 23, 2023. It was a sunny day so they got to see lots of butterflies fluttering about and drinking nectar. Below some photos from their field trip.

Supported by MBF, Cielo Rojo, a member of the Monarch Network, has completed a video exposing the problems generated by the planting and proliferation of non-native milkweed in the summer and winter habitats of migratory monarchs. You can watch the video below.

On November 18 El Rosario opened the monarch sanctuaries for tourists to visit during the 2022-2023 overwintering season. Carmelo Martínez Colín from Ejido Cerro Prieto took the photos below of the colonies already forming  in Sierra Chincua. The forests that shelter our beloved monarchs during the winter are being conserved thanks to the efforts of Carmelo and the people and communities that like him, are committed to the protection of our natural resources.