Winter 2021

SHORT CUTS ENVIRONMENT Over 20 conservation organizations have come together to form the Monterey Regional Monarch Alliance, dedicated to habitat restoration, education and outreach. I n late 2019, headlines about dramatic mon- arch population declines caught the eye of Ph.D. ecologist Emily Zefferman. Because Monterey County has both coastal overwin- tering habitats and inland environments crit- ical to monarch migration and breeding, she and some Resource Conservation District of Monterey County (RCDMC) colleagues rec- ognized an opportunity. They gathered more than 20 conservation organizations to form the Monterey Regional Monarch Alliance (MRMA), a grassroots work- ing group that coordinates regional habitat restoration, education and outreach. “Monarchs have a migratory population that goes huge distances. No one agency or organiza- tion can address this issue alone,” Zefferman says. Climate change, habitat destruction and insecticide use are a few factors that led to the documentation of fewer than 2,000 monarchs across California overwintering sites in 2020. Ultimately, MRMA organizers want to be a one-stop resource for local businesses, land managers, conservation agencies and communi- ty members interested in helping—whether by planting native milkweed, protecting overwin- tering sites or taking other steps. “There’s hope, but it requires action and it’s an all-hands-on-deck situation. We don’t want to sit back and watch this population go extinct,” Zefferman says. For information on monarch-friendly habitats and conservation, Zefferman recommends the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (xerc- eW.org anH the Cal¾ora TlantMng gYMHe at cal¾o - ra.org/entr] /Talette.html. *or Montere] RegMonal Monarch AllMance YTHateW TleaWe ZMWMt the RC(MC *aceFooO Tage. Grassroots Group Makes Monarch Health a Pr ior ity B Y R ENE E B R I NCK S 84 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 1 Photo: Anatoliy Lukich/Shutterstock