Today is California’s Western Monarch Day, and what better way to celebrate the iconic butterfly species by using your voice to ensure their Endangered Species Act protection?! SPAWN is on the frontlines of monarch butterfly conservation, as this winter’s Western Monarch Count recorded only 9,119 monarchs—the second-lowest in history. Here in Marin County, SPAWN works year-round restoring critical riparian and coastal habitats, working with local partners to restore vital overwintering and breeding habitats. Our initiatives include:
- A public advocacy tool making it easy for individuals to submit comments in support of ESA protections.
- Resources to help local communities plant native milkweed and pollinator-friendly gardens.
- A monarch waystation program bringing habitat restoration to schools, businesses, and nonprofits.
- Collaborative efforts with the Marin Monarch Working Group to enhance West Marin’s overwintering sites.
To take national action for monarch butterflies, please consider writing a unique comment to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service below:
Turtle Island Restoration Network Springs into Action to Ensure Endangered Species Act Protection for Monarch Butterflies
For Immediate Release: February 5, 2025
MARIN COUNTY, CA – Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN), a leading nonprofit dedicated to ocean and watershed conservation, is launching a new initiative to empower the public in protecting the rapidly declining Western monarch butterfly population. This campaign offers simple yet impactful ways for individuals to advocate for monarch conservation, including an easy-to-use tool for submitting public comments in support of the species’ protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 4(d). Additionally, TIRN’s Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN) program is amplifying regional resources to help communities plant and maintain native gardens that support healthy monarch populations.
Monarch butterflies are one of the most iconic species, known for their striking black and orange markings and their remarkable migration, with some populations traveling thousands of miles between North America and Mexico each year. However, monarch numbers have plummeted by 90%, underscoring the urgent need for conservation efforts.
The 28th annual Western Monarch Count recorded only 9,119 monarchs this winter—the second-lowest overwintering population ever documented since monitoring began in 1997. In response to these alarming figures, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is proposing to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the ESA, which would provide critical protections and designate essential habitats. Monarchs need this protection finalized—and time is running out.
“Monarch butterflies are in crisis. The Western population, once numbering in the millions, dropped below 10,000 this past season, with many overwintering sites left unoccupied,” explains Audrey Fusco, SPAWN Program Director and Restoration Ecologist. “Here in Marin County, only a handful are making it through the winter. This decline is driven by climate change, pesticide use, and habitat loss—both at coastal overwintering sites and inland breeding areas. Now, more than ever, we must take immediate action by advocating for ESA protection while also making long-term habitat improvements.”
SPAWN is committed to ecological restoration, which directly benefits species like the monarch by revitalizing riparian and coastal ecosystems. To help the public participate in these efforts, Fusco has developed native plant guides for California’s Northern, Central, and Southern regions, making it easy for people of all experience levels to create pollinator-friendly gardens. Explore these resources:
- Gardening for Western Monarchs & Other Butterflies
- How to Grow California Native Milkweed
- How to Grow Narrow-leaf Milkweed from Seed
- Restoring Habitat for Monarchs in Marin
- Restoring Habitat for Monarchs in Santa Barbara County
SPAWN serves as the fiscal sponsor for the Marin Monarch Working Group (MMWG), which collaborates on conservation efforts to enhance monarch overwintering habitats in West Marin. Additionally, SPAWN and its partners, including Home Ground Habitats, are working to expand summer breeding habitats by distributing Narrow-leaf Milkweed through the Milkweed Giveaway/Tropical Milkweed Trade-Out Program and are establishing monarch waystations at schools, businesses, and nonprofit organizations through a program called ‘Bringing Nature to School’. SPAWN and the West Marin Monarch Sanctuary are working to enhance critical overwintering habitat in the northern-most active overwintering grounds in California, in Bolinas, CA.
As part of the ESA listing proposal, the USFWS has identified 4,395 acres of critical habitat in California as essential for the Western monarch butterfly’s survival. These areas span Alameda, Marin, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Ventura counties—many of which are located within California State Parks, which have historically supported 20–50% of the Western monarch population.
“We encourage everyone to take part in the democratic process by writing to the USFWS and urging them to grant the monarch butterfly protection under the ESA,” says Mia Monroe, a long-time volunteer with The Xerces Society and co-founder of the annual Mid-season count. “Monarchs are not only a symbol of beauty and wildness but also indicators of healthy ecosystems. Protecting them ensures that future generations can experience a world rich with biodiversity.”
Protecting monarch butterflies strengthens pollinator communities, which are essential for both human and environmental health. We cannot allow monarchs to go extinct. By participating in this initiative, individuals can make a meaningful impact and contribute to a nationwide effort to reverse monarch population declines.
To submit a comment in support of the monarch butterfly’s ESA candidacy, please visit https://secure.everyaction.com/XMio2PhxGUyAZqYXR1sbsg2. This comment period closes March 12, 2025.
Turtle Island Restoration Network is a global ocean and watershed conservation nonprofit with offices in California and Texas, whose mission is to inspire and mobilize people around the world to protect marine biodiversity and the waters that sustain all life on Earth. To support our ongoing salmon habitat restoration projects, promote biodiversity, and encourage schools and homeowners to garden with plants native to their community, TIRN’s SPAWN Program grows more than 100 species of locally native plants in our native plant nursery.
For more information on SPAWN or to make a donation, please visit www.seaturtles.org/spawn.
Contact: Audrey Fusco, SPAWN Program Director, audrey@tirn.net
