Monarch Butterfly Fund

Conserving the Magic of the Monarch Migration
Conservando la Magia de la Migración Monarca

Spotlight

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Tribute to Lincoln Brower

On November 22, 2019, the tourist season opened at the Sierra Chincua Sanctuary in Angangueo, Michoacán. As part of this event, Silvano Aureoles, Governor of the State of Michoacán, Hilda Dominguez, Municipal President of Angangueo and Carmelo Martínez, Ejido Leader, unveiled a plaque that remembers Lincoln for “his passion for monarchs, nature, science and conservation”, and commemorates the fact that it was in this sanctuary where Lincoln first saw a butterfly colony and called it “Site Alpha”. MBF Board member, Isabel Ramírez, read a beautiful thank you message from Lincoln’s wife, Linda Fink and gave a brief overview of Lincoln’s work and the role he played in the conservation of this site.

This tribute was made on the initiative of Ejido Cerro Prieto’s ejido leader, with support from Monarch Butterfly Fund, the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, the Monarch Fund and the UNAM Environmental Geography Research Center (CIGA).  The memorial is symbolized by a large butterfly made of quarry stone designed by architect Vladimir Argueta-Márquez from Zitácuaro, Michoacán and carved by Maestro Agustín García-Alvarado from Tlalpujahua, Michoacán.

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Maps of Vegetation and Land Cover of the MBBR in 2018 Online!

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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

Kids from Nicolas Romero Indigenous Community planting trees

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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!