Where have all of California’s beautiful monarch butterflies gone? | Opinion

Think back to when you were in elementary school, learning about metamorphosis, the process in which a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. Sadly, future elementary students might not be able to watch metamorphosis occur in real life if we let our monarch butterfly population go extinct. Their extinction will be due to habitat and food source destruction caused by herbicide-resistant crops, pesticide usage, deforestation, development, climate change and intense weather conditions.

We must save the monarchs from extinction because of the environmental, economic, educational and cultural benefits they bring to our communities.

There are two sub-populations of monarch butterfly populations in North America: The western population lives west of the Rocky Mountains, while the eastern population lives east of the Rockies. Both populations are so dangerously low that current efforts by federal and state governments and nonprofit organizations are still not able to fully recover the species.

Monarchs are not federally listed as an endangered species just yet, and much of the public remains unaware of their massive decline. Nearly 700 million eastern monarchs used to spent the winter in the oyamel fir forest located north of Mexico City (mainly in Michoacán). Meanwhile, about 4,500,000 western monarchs used to spent their winters in about 50 sites located in various forested groves on the California coast, including Pismo Beach. While most of these habitats on the coast of California are publicly owned, many of the largest sites are privately owned, which means there is minimal protection of the butterflies.

Currently, the western monarch population is down 95% from the millions of monarchs that inhabited the West in 1997. The eastern population is still down 90% from the highest population count since the mid-1990s. In the 2022-23 winter count, monarchs only occupied a total of 5.5 acres of forest. In 1997, the eastern monarchs were recorded at its highest, occupying approximately 49.4 acres.

The declining rate of this species is a problem that can be remedied, and it needs to be addressed by our government. Monarchs are important pollinators and play a critical role in our ecosystem. They heavily contribute to the reproduction of our most treasured sources: flowers, fruits and vegetables. Butterflies, bees, moths, bats and other pollinators pollinate over 75% of the worlds flowering plants. Without pollinators, humans will face major economic hardships and possible famine.

Monarchs have been known to promote tourism for certain communities, which can increase a city’s revenue and beautification. The educational benefits are apparent in the teachings of plant reproduction, pollinators and insect development changes.

The monarch and its magnificent migration across North America has also been a cultural icon for decades. The monarch’s migration is a symbol in cultural celebrations in Mexico. Monarchs symbolize the souls of their ancestors, and for believers, the butterfly’s visit on Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) represents that a friend or relative is visiting the living world once again.

Monarch butterflies have an environmental, economic, educational and cultural value to communities in North America. To risk losing this important pollinator would result in a domino effect of destruction on the health of our ecosystem.

More government efforts are needed to save this beautiful species.