Today, February, 18 the Monarch Network launched the video titled “Biodiversity: Beyond the Monarch” that illustrates the amazing variety of species that exist in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. During the event, held at the Museum of Memory and Tolerance in Mexico City, the media and the public watched the video after listening to a tribute to Dr. Lincoln Brower given by Mónica Missrie from MBF, and followed by several presentations from several members of the Monarch Network including Board member Dr. Isabel Ramírez who talked about the monarchs and climate change. The video was streamed in the U.S. and Canada. MBF is proud to be a member of the Monarch Network and to fund the video that you can watch below.
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.
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.
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!
