In 2019, MBF funded the update and publication of the “Monarch Cartographic Series: Vegetation and Land Cover 2018” and it is now online on UNAM’s Center for Research in Environmental Geography (CIGA)’s website. Developed by board member Isabel Ramírez, and her collaborators Jairo G. López-Sánchez and Sara Barrasa, this update is the second part of the Monarch Cartographic Series of which Volume 1 was published a decade ago and both are part of a long-term monitoring project of land cover in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) and its surrounding areas. The monitoring will allow us to identify the magnitude and location of changes in land use.
Spotlight
Article on Community Participation in Monarch Butterfly Forests
MBF board member Dr. Isabel Ramírez and other authors recently published a paper in a forestry journal form the University of Chapingo. Titled ”Community participation for carbon measurement in forests of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico”, the article describes how participatory mapping workshops were held in four communities to share tree carbon mapping and measurement techniques generating data that can help communities manage their forests and resources more effectively. To read the full article click on the title of the article or here.
2019 Reforestation Almost Done: 22,000 Trees Planted!
Local communities have been busy this summer planting trees! So far, we have planted 22,000 trees on 20 hectares with the participation of more than 650 children, women and men from the local communities. Summer vacations did not deter the kids who were very excited and unanimously confirmed that they didn’t mind spending their vacations planting trees. Especially since most of the seedlings came from the school tree nurseries that they created.
Summer Reforestation Underway!
Children are enjoying their summer vacation, but that didn‘t stop them from participating in our reforestation. This year rains were delayed and so did our reforestation that began in July when the soil was ready to plant trees. With 280 people from the local communities so far, we have planted 5,400 trees on 5 hectares. Approximately 200 children joined the adults and participated in the reforestation!
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| Kids from Nicolas Romero Indigenous Community planting trees | ||
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Publishes Article About Lincoln Brower
MBF Board members Dr. Karen Oberhauser, Dr. Alfonso Alonso, and Dr. Ernest Williams, were among the authors that wrote a wonderful tribute to Dr. Brower titled “Lincoln Brower, Champion for Monarchs” recently published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. The article describes Lincoln’s trajectory and how it led him to work for the conservation of the monarch butterflies, took him to Mexico and how he established collaborations and mentored others to become not only a champion for monarchs but for nature as well!
Assisted Migration on the Front Page of the LA Times
The Los Angles Times published the article “To save the monarch butterfly, Mexican scientists are moving a forest 1,000 feet up the mountain“. The article shares the lovely story of Francisco Ramirez Cruz, a campesino from ejido La Mesa and his involvement with Dr. Cuauhtémoc Saénz who is also interviewed discussing his assisted migration experiments. MBF is proud to support these experiments!