----- Original Message -----

From: Lori Mannel

To: hjohnson1952@... ; Mia Monroe ; Francis X. Villablanca ; Leslie Gilson ; Cynthia J brock ; anne wells ; Western Monarch News ; David Marriott ; paul cherubini ; tama olver ; Annie Holdren ; cassie carter ; marge jameson ; atlatl1@... ; dino labiste ; chris Lange ; evan oakes

Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 9:09 AM

Subject: RE: [western_monarchs] Re: [Southwest_Monarchs] Article about Pacific Grove's...

The Museum would be happy to provide the space for such a one-day event. We’d have limited bandwidth on pulling together the speakers if someone else could handle that.

 

The current exhibit is up until January 9 and then the Special exhibit hall is closed to install the next exhibit. The room would be available again in February. Would such a program make sense in Feb during the Monarch season or would it be best later in the year after the data from this season has been completely collected and analyzed?

 

Lori

 

From: hjohnson1952@... [mailto:hjohnson1952@...]
Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:44 PM
To: Mia Monroe; Francis X. Villablanca; Lori Mannel; Leslie Gilson; Cynthia J brock; anne wells; Western Monarch News; David Marriott; paul cherubini; tama olver; Annie Holdren; cassie carter; marge jameson; atlatl1@...; dino labiste; chris Lange; evan oakes
Cc: Helen Johnson
Subject: Re: [western_monarchs] Re: [Southwest_Monarchs] Article about Pacific Grove's...

 

Hi, Mia Monroe:

 

I am so glad that you will be hosting Gail Morris and her husband from the Arizona Southwest Monarch group (Chris Kline) later this week at Natural Bridges, Santa Cruz, California.  They have already visited David Marriott of the Southern California "Monarch Program", and today they visited with Leslie Gilson at the Norma Gibbs Park in Huntington Beach, California

 

They are having a great vacation touring California Coastal Monarch overwintering sites, and tomorrow they are visiting Ellwood Main in Goleta(Santa Barbara), California, then they are meeting Paul Cherubini. and I guess I am next to be visited in Pacific Grove on Friday afternoon.,followed by their visit to Natural Bridges to meet you.

Your Monarch news was really interesting to hear that Monarchs are visiting Stinson Beach California again,

Is it possible that Global Warming, as predicted, may already be causing Monarchs to begiin to shift their overwintering sites North  with climate changes?

 

We really NEED a one day program for California Monarch people to share this season's information, and would January February, or March 2010, be the  months ensuring the greatest attendance, and I am willing to help finance it, and maybe Lori will allow us to use the Pacific Grove Museum Auditorium.

Need some feedback to see if this a viable plan,

                                               Helen Johnson

----- Original Message -----

From: Muirmia@...

To: monarch@... ; MonarchPrg@...

Cc: fvillabl@... ; hjohnson1952@... ; mannel@... ; cedarstreettimes@... ; holdren@... ; cur8or@... ; lesliegilson@... ; edith@... ; tamaolver@... ; jbeigle@... ; Muirmia@... ; jaime.t.george@... ; calpolyio@...

Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 7:28 PM

Subject: Re: [western_monarchs] Re: [Southwest_Monarchs] Article about Pacific Grove's...

 

we also had monarchs back to Stinson for first time in several years...will be checking the Marin sites this Friday and will send a report over weekend!

mia

Anne Wells wrote:

> Paul, I didn't realize that the Central Coast counts were/are so
> extraordinarily low.

Yes, Anne, in fact Gail & Bob Morris visited Ellwood Main yesturday
and they made this comment on another discussion list:

"The monarch numbers are shockingly lower than last
January when we visited. Unofficially the numbers look
like they are only about 30% of what we saw then."

So 30% of 25,000 would mean the population at Ellwood
Main right now is about 7,500 which would be a record low
number.

However, in some years during November the monarchs also cluster
at Ellwood Central, Ellwood West, Ellwood North or Ellwood East
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/4ALC/ell.jpg
So Gail & Bob are checking out those groves this morning.

Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.

Thanks for the detailed report, Jamie Miller and Jaime George.
Your mid-Nov. counts suggest that 2009 will be be an all time record
low monarch population year for the central Coast.  Examples:

Pacific Grove Butterfly Sanctuary: 933; Previous Record Low:4,700
Private Property, Big Sur: 3,539; Previous Record Low: 5,333
Pismo Beach State Park:: 6,711; Previous Record Low: 15,000

Virtually all the fall migrant monarchs have already arrived
at the coast so there is no hope of the colonies further
increasing in size by more than a small amount.

At the rate the western monarchs are declining, Cal Poly will
have to discontinue monarch field research in another 10-20
years due to a lack of butterflies!

Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.

----- Original Message -----

From: Muirmia@...

To: monarch@... ; MonarchPrg@...

Cc: fvillabl@... ; hjohnson1952@... ; mannel@... ; cedarstreettimes@... ; holdren@... ; cur8or@... ; lesliegilson@... ; edith@... ; tamaolver@... ; jbeigle@... ; Muirmia@... ; jaime.t.george@... ; calpolyio@...

Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 7:28 PM

Subject: Re: [western_monarchs] Re: [Southwest_Monarchs] Article about Pacific Grove's...

we also had monarchs back to Stinson for first time in several years...will be checking the Marin sites this Friday and will send a report over weekend!

mia

George McRae wrote:

> Extremely disturbing of course. Do you have contacts with
> press who can push this?

No George. But before contacting the press I would be interested
in learning about the City's side of the story; i.e. why
weren't City officials aware that pruning the eucalyptus branches
could potentially have a devastating impact on the size of the
butterfly population occupying the Monarch Grove Sanctuary?

The City might have a completely legitimate alibi; e.g.
maybe the City's monarch consultant gave his OK to the
pruning.  Or maybe the City's monarch consultant never
emphasized to them that the eucalyptus branches
were critically important.  Or, considering the City probably
had to pay a six figure settlement to the family of the
victum who was killed by a falling branch several years ago,
perhaps the City decided tourist safety trumps any
butterfly habitat considerations.

Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.

----- Original Message -----

From: Jerry Stanley

To: western_monarchs@yahoogroups.com ; Muirmia@...

Cc: hjohnson1952@... ; western_monarchs@yahoogroups.com ; Southwest_Monarchs@yahoogroups.com ; fvillabl@... ; mannel@... ; cedarstreettimes@... ; holdren@... ; cur8or@... ; lesliegilson@... ; edith@... ; MonarchPrg@... ; tamaolver@... ; jbeigle@...

Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 11:45 AM

Subject: Re: [western_monarchs] Re: [Southwest_Monarchs] Article about Pacific Grove's missing monarchs and pruned butterfly cluster trees

 

At the Pismo Monarch Grove,  our current overwintering numbers are 6,100+.
 

Jerry Stanley

Arroyo Grande

---

From: Paul Cherubini <monarch@saber.net>
To: Muirmia@aol.com
Cc: hjohnson1952@sbcglobal.net; western_monarchs@yahoogroups.com; Southwest_Monarchs@yahoogroups.com; fvillabl@calpoly.edu; mannel@pgmuseum.org; cedarstreettimes@gmail.com; holdren@pgmuseum.org; cur8or@...; lesliegilson@hotmail.com; edith@buyabutterfly.com; MonarchPrg@aol.com; tamaolver@comcast.net; jbeigle@sbcglobal.net
Sent: Tue, November 17, 2009 10:25:50 AM
Subject: Re: [western_monarchs] Re: [Southwest_Monarchs] Article about Pacific Grove's missing monarchs and pruned butterfly cluster trees

 

Mia Monroe wrote:

> would be great to learn what others up and down the coast
> are also noting to help develop an early picture of trends.

Mia, on Oct. 25 I briefly checked several major colonies from Pacific
Grove to Pismo Beach and numbers are running roughly 50-75%
lower, overall, than last year. So by comparison with other central
coast colonies, the Monarch Grove Sanctuary at Pacific Grove this fall
should have had around 5,000-7,500 monarchs by now (down from
about 15,000 last year in mid-Nov.) But it has no clusters at all
according to Marge Jameson's Nov. 13 Cedar Street Times article.
Never before in the entire history of Pacific Grove have the butterflies
failed to gather by the thousands by mid-November.

So I think we're beyond the "reserve judgement" phase and now
it's time to focus on learning the City's side of the story; i.e. why
weren't City officials aware that pruning the eucalyptus branches
could potentially have a devastating impact on the size of the
butterfly population occupying the Monarch Grove Sanctuary?

Indeed, why didn't Pacific Grove's own monarch conservationists
express concern when they heard and observed the tree service
cranes and chain saws in late Sept.?

Reporters from around the State and maybe even the Associated
Press are likely going to be asking these questions in the weeks ahead.

Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.

 

Hi, Mia Monroe"

 

Since our reduced count of Monarchs present in Pacific Grove now  is creating interest outside of the Monterey Bay area, could you please ask Sara Jepson of the Xerces Society to put another copy of the Xerces Thanksgiving counts from 1997 - 2008, on the Western Monarch newletter site, which will be automatically be transmitted and printed in  the BUTTERFLY DIGEST daily news report which covers the entire United States, including the other states "West of the Rockies"..

 

 Mailing  a  44cent stamped copy of that report to every interested person inquiring is becoming too large part of my daily "other life.

 

Thanking you in advance.

                                              Helen Johnson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: muirmia@aol.com

To: hjohnson1952@sbcglobal.net ; western_monarchs@yahoogroups.com ; monarch@saber.net ; fvillabl@calpoly.edu ; mannel@pgmuseum.org ; cedarstreettimes@gmail.com ; holdren@pgmuseum.org ; cur8or@... ; lesliegilson@hotmail.com ; edith@buyabutterfly.com ; MonarchPrg@aol.com ; tamaolver@comcast.net ; jbeigle@sbcglobal.net

Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:07 AM

Subject: Re: [western_monarchs] Re: [Southwest_Monarchs] Article about Pacific Grove's missing monarchs and pruned butterfly cluster trees

 

Hi Helen...thanks for cautioning us...

hope everyone rec'd their count packages and are getting ready to monitor!

any chance we could receive those weekly summaries, the ones Jessica sent out last year were helpful and interesting!  would be great to learn what others up and down the coast are also noting to help develop an early picture of trends.

Just went to the Pacific Grove Museum's website for information on upcoming Monarch Madness (to include as we promote monarch awareness and events)...saw that the simplified model of migration is still part of the monarch story and am wondering if this Museum's staff could take on maps and text to help update our new understanding of monarch movement thanks to new tag recoveries and other information?

mia

__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4615 (20091117) __________

The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.

http://www.eset.com

----- Original Message -----

From: muirmia@...

To: hjohnson1952@... ; western_monarchs@yahoogroups.com ; monarch@... ; fvillabl@... ; mannel@... ; cedarstreettimes@... ; holdren@... ; cur8or@... ; lesliegilson@... ; edith@... ; MonarchPrg@... ; tamaolver@... ; jbeigle@...

Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:07 AM

Subject: Re: [western_monarchs] Re: [Southwest_Monarchs] Article about Pacific Grove's missing monarchs and pruned butterfly cluster trees

 

Hi Helen...thanks for cautioning us...

hope everyone rec'd their count packages and are getting ready to monitor!

any chance we could receive those weekly summaries, the ones Jessica sent out last year were helpful and interesting!  would be great to learn what others up and down the coast are also noting to help develop an early picture of trends.

Just went to the Pacific Grove Museum's website for information on upcoming Monarch Madness (to include as we promote monarch awareness and events)...saw that the simplified model of migration is still part of the monarch story and am wondering if this Museum's staff could take on maps and text to help update our new understanding of monarch movement thanks to new tag recoveries and other information?

mia

Mia Monroe wrote:

> would be great to learn what others up and down the coast
> are also noting to help develop an early picture of trends.

Mia, on Oct. 25 I briefly checked several major colonies from Pacific
Grove to Pismo Beach and numbers are running roughly 50-75%
lower, overall, than last year.  So by comparison with other central
coast colonies, the Monarch Grove Sanctuary at Pacific Grove this fall
should have had around 5,000-7,500 monarchs by now (down from
about 15,000 last year in mid-Nov.) But it has no clusters at all
according to Marge Jameson's Nov. 13 Cedar Street Times article.
Never before in the entire history of Pacific Grove have the butterflies
failed to gather by the thousands by mid-November.

So I think we're beyond the "reserve judgement" phase and now
it's time to focus on learning the City's side of the story; i.e. why
weren't City officials aware that pruning the eucalyptus branches
could potentially have a devastating impact on the size of the
butterfly population occupying the Monarch Grove Sanctuary?

Indeed, why didn't Pacific Grove's own monarch conservationists
express concern when they heard and observed the tree service
cranes and chain saws in late Sept.?

Reporters from around the State and maybe even the Associated
Press are likely going to be asking these questions in the weeks ahead.

Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.

 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: muirmia@...

To: hjohnson1952@... ; western_monarchs@yahoogroups.com ; monarch@... ; fvillabl@... ; mannel@... ; cedarstreettimes@... ; holdren@... ; cur8or@... ; lesliegilson@... ; edith@... ; MonarchPrg@... ; tamaolver@... ; jbeigle@...

Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:07 AM

Subject: Re: [western_monarchs] Re: [Southwest_Monarchs] Article about Pacific Grove's missing monarchs and pruned butterfly cluster trees

 

Hi Helen...thanks for cautioning us...

hope everyone rec'd their count packages and are getting ready to monitor!

any chance we could receive those weekly summaries, the ones Jessica sent out last year were helpful and interesting!  would be great to learn what others up and down the coast are also noting to help develop an early picture of trends.

Just went to the Pacific Grove Museum's website for information on upcoming Monarch Madness (to include as we promote monarch awareness and events)...saw that the simplified model of migration is still part of the monarch story and am wondering if this Museum's staff could take on maps and text to help update our new understanding of monarch movement thanks to new tag recoveries and other information?

mia

----- Original Message -----

From: Paul Cherubini

To: Southwest_Monarchs@yahoogroups.com

Cc: western_monarchs@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 8:42 PM

Subject: [western_monarchs] Re: [Southwest_Monarchs] Article about Pacific Grove's missing monarchs and pruned butterfly cluster trees

 

Zierenberg Nancy wrote:

> This is horrendous! I can't get the article, but is there a way to
> respond to this asking the city to follow up with the chain sawyers
> and city council for some kind of punitive on-the-record action to
> make sure this kind of thing never happens again?? We shouldn't just
> let this slip by.

Nancy, we still don't know the City's side of the story; i.e.
whether or not the City consulted monarch specialist Stuart Weiss
prior to the pruning.

Below I have copied and pasted the Cedar Street Times article
in full so you can see read it:

WHERE ARE THE BUTTERFLIES?

"Butterfly Town, USA" has a new dilemma and may have to
start looking for a new moniker. The butterflies are MIA, and
no one knows why. It may be too early to panic, but it seems
that the Monarchs, which usually arrive sometime in October
or November, have yet to arrive in any appreciable numbers.
And some accuse the city of Pacific Grove's Public Works
department of culpability: the trees in the Sanctuary were
trimmed in September in order to "balance" them and help
ensure the safety of tourists. Many will recall that a few years
ago a branch fell on a tourist and killed her.

"We're done," said Bob Pacelli, a videographer who has filmed
the migratory insects over more than two decades. His films
about the Monarchs of Pacific Grove are used in classrooms
across the country. He points to archive films showing a canopy
of blue gum eucalyptus dripping with roosting butterflies, and
says that the protection provided by the branches against wind
and sun is gone as are the low-hanging branches on which the
butterflies cling. He fears, as do others, that if the butterflies
choose not to return this year, they may never do so.

Paul Cherubini of El Dorado is a citizen scientist and a long-time
observer of overwintering clusters in Santa Cruz and Monterey
counties, as well as other sites. He said, "after the Harbor
Blvd. overwintering site in Ventura got the "scalloped pruning"
treatment about 3 years ago . . .the butterfly population plunged
about 70 percent and the site is now just an autumnal cluster
site instead of a winter-long permanent cluster site."

But Francis Villablanca, Ph.D., a butterfly advocate who studies
the community structures of insects, isn't so sure. "We will have
data by the end of the season that will allow us to evaluate [the
situation] in a straightforward and objective manner," he said in
an email. Villablanca works at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and is vitally
interested in the data from Pacific Grove. He is the Scientific Advisor
for the Monarch Alert program. Says Villablanca: "At the current
time we do not know if the PG Sanctuary population count is low
because of something peculiar to this site (e.g.: tree trimming),
or if the populations are low range-wide and across all sites.

"Within the next few weeks, and certainly by the Thanksgiving
count we will have the data to argue for a catastrophic year
overall, or for a catastrophic tree trimming event at the
Sanctuary, or for late arrivals."He's not ready to panic, either.
"I would call for calm minds to prevail until we have some
data... the story will make itself evident."

Thanksgiving has been the benchmark count for a number of years.
Figures kept by the Xerces Society show that the lowest count was
4,700 in 2002. With the Thanksgiving count a little more than a
week away, only about 500 butterflies have been seen at any
one time in the Sanctuary.

Lori Mannel, Director of the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural
History, is also cautious about assigning blame for the low counts.
"This discussion and the conclusions being drawn are a bit premature
for me. It1s too early to tell the degree that the PG Monarch
population has declined this overwintering season. If the entire
overwintering season does exhibit reduced population numbers,
then there are multiple possible explanations (e.g., El Nino storm,
construction at neighboring Adult School, natural variance.)," she
said. "I do know that in some years Natural Bridges [an overwintering
sanctuary in Santa Cruz County] has more Monarchs and in some
years PG has more. If the Sanctuary is no longer ideal, then it
would be interesting to know why they haven't moved to George
Washington Park as they have in the past? We clearly still have
a lot to learn."

According to Pacelli, there are no large clusters of butterflies at
George Washington Park, but there have not been for a number
of years, either, he says.

At least one private property owner has contacted Cedar Street
Times to report that there are clusters on her property, but she is
reluctant to have either scientists, city officials or tourists coming
onto her property for a number of reasons, not the least of which
is liability for their safety.

Pacific Grove's sanctuary ordinance calls for city council approval
for tree trimming in the sanctuary during the overwintering season,
from October through January. The trimming was done, according
to Director of Public Works Celia Martinez, at the end of September.
"The code allows trimming for site maintenance, health, safety and
welfare," she said. The arborist, Rick Katen, monitored the trimming.
Clearly, the need for data is strong before the reasons for the
abnormal count can be learned.

----- Original Message -----

From: Paul Cherubini

To: Southwest_Monarchs@yahoogroups.com

Cc: western_monarchs@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 8:42 PM

Subject: [western_monarchs] Re: [Southwest_Monarchs] Article about Pacific Grove's missing monarchs and pruned butterfly cluster trees

 

Zierenberg Nancy wrote:

> This is horrendous! I can't get the article, but is there a way to
> respond to this asking the city to follow up with the chain sawyers
> and city council for some kind of punitive on-the-record action to
> make sure this kind of thing never happens again?? We shouldn't just
> let this slip by.

Nancy, we still don't know the City's side of the story; i.e.
whether or not the City consulted monarch specialist Stuart Weiss
prior to the pruning.

Below I have copied and pasted the Cedar Street Times article
in full so you can see read it:

WHERE ARE THE BUTTERFLIES?

"Butterfly Town, USA" has a new dilemma and may have to
start looking for a new moniker. The butterflies are MIA, and
no one knows why. It may be too early to panic, but it seems
that the Monarchs, which usually arrive sometime in October
or November, have yet to arrive in any appreciable numbers.
And some accuse the city of Pacific Grove's Public Works
department of culpability: the trees in the Sanctuary were
trimmed in September in order to "balance" them and help
ensure the safety of tourists. Many will recall that a few years
ago a branch fell on a tourist and killed her.

"We're done," said Bob Pacelli, a videographer who has filmed
the migratory insects over more than two decades. His films
about the Monarchs of Pacific Grove are used in classrooms
across the country. He points to archive films showing a canopy
of blue gum eucalyptus dripping with roosting butterflies, and
says that the protection provided by the branches against wind
and sun is gone as are the low-hanging branches on which the
butterflies cling. He fears, as do others, that if the butterflies
choose not to return this year, they may never do so.

Paul Cherubini of El Dorado is a citizen scientist and a long-time
observer of overwintering clusters in Santa Cruz and Monterey
counties, as well as other sites. He said, "after the Harbor
Blvd. overwintering site in Ventura got the "scalloped pruning"
treatment about 3 years ago . . .the butterfly population plunged
about 70 percent and the site is now just an autumnal cluster
site instead of a winter-long permanent cluster site."

But Francis Villablanca, Ph.D., a butterfly advocate who studies
the community structures of insects, isn't so sure. "We will have
data by the end of the season that will allow us to evaluate [the
situation] in a straightforward and objective manner," he said in
an email. Villablanca works at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and is vitally
interested in the data from Pacific Grove. He is the Scientific Advisor
for the Monarch Alert program. Says Villablanca: "At the current
time we do not know if the PG Sanctuary population count is low
because of something peculiar to this site (e.g.: tree trimming),
or if the populations are low range-wide and across all sites.

"Within the next few weeks, and certainly by the Thanksgiving
count we will have the data to argue for a catastrophic year
overall, or for a catastrophic tree trimming event at the
Sanctuary, or for late arrivals."He's not ready to panic, either.
"I would call for calm minds to prevail until we have some
data... the story will make itself evident."

Thanksgiving has been the benchmark count for a number of years.
Figures kept by the Xerces Society show that the lowest count was
4,700 in 2002. With the Thanksgiving count a little more than a
week away, only about 500 butterflies have been seen at any
one time in the Sanctuary.

Lori Mannel, Director of the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural
History, is also cautious about assigning blame for the low counts.
"This discussion and the conclusions being drawn are a bit premature
for me. It1s too early to tell the degree that the PG Monarch
population has declined this overwintering season. If the entire
overwintering season does exhibit reduced population numbers,
then there are multiple possible explanations (e.g., El Nino storm,
construction at neighboring Adult School, natural variance.)," she
said. "I do know that in some years Natural Bridges [an overwintering
sanctuary in Santa Cruz County] has more Monarchs and in some
years PG has more. If the Sanctuary is no longer ideal, then it
would be interesting to know why they haven't moved to George
Washington Park as they have in the past? We clearly still have
a lot to learn."

According to Pacelli, there are no large clusters of butterflies at
George Washington Park, but there have not been for a number
of years, either, he says.

At least one private property owner has contacted Cedar Street
Times to report that there are clusters on her property, but she is
reluctant to have either scientists, city officials or tourists coming
onto her property for a number of reasons, not the least of which
is liability for their safety.

Pacific Grove's sanctuary ordinance calls for city council approval
for tree trimming in the sanctuary during the overwintering season,
from October through January. The trimming was done, according
to Director of Public Works Celia Martinez, at the end of September.
"The code allows trimming for site maintenance, health, safety and
welfare," she said. The arborist, Rick Katen, monitored the trimming.
Clearly, the need for data is strong before the reasons for the
abnormal count can be learned.

Zierenberg Nancy wrote:

> This is horrendous! I can't get the article, but is there a way to
> respond to this asking the city to follow up with the chain sawyers
> and city council for some kind of punitive on-the-record action to
> make sure this kind of thing never happens again?? We shouldn't just
> let this slip by.

Nancy, we still don't know the City's side of the story; i.e.
whether or not the City consulted monarch specialist Stuart Weiss
prior to the pruning.

Below I have copied and pasted the Cedar Street Times article
in full so you can see read it:

WHERE ARE THE BUTTERFLIES?

"Butterfly Town, USA" has a new dilemma and may have to
start looking for a new moniker. The butterflies are MIA, and
no one knows why. It may be too early to panic, but it seems
that the Monarchs, which usually arrive sometime in October
or November, have yet to arrive in any appreciable numbers.
And some accuse the city of Pacific Grove's Public Works
department of culpability: the trees in the Sanctuary were
trimmed in September in order to "balance" them and help
ensure the safety of tourists. Many will recall that a few years
ago a branch fell on a tourist and killed her.

"We're done," said Bob Pacelli, a videographer who has filmed
the migratory insects over more than two decades. His films
about the Monarchs of Pacific Grove are used in classrooms
across the country. He points to archive films showing a canopy
of blue gum eucalyptus dripping with roosting butterflies, and
says that the protection provided by the branches against wind
  and sun is gone as are the low-hanging branches on which the
butterflies cling. He fears, as do others, that if the butterflies
choose not to return this year, they may never do so.

Paul Cherubini of El Dorado is a citizen scientist and a long-time
observer of overwintering clusters in Santa Cruz and Monterey
counties, as well as other sites. He said, "after the Harbor
Blvd. overwintering site in Ventura got the "scalloped pruning"
treatment about 3 years ago . . .the butterfly population plunged
about 70 percent and the site is now just an autumnal cluster
site instead of a winter-long permanent cluster site."

But Francis Villablanca, Ph.D., a butterfly advocate who studies
the community structures of insects, isn't so sure. "We will have
data by the end of the season that will allow us to evaluate [the
situation] in a straightforward and objective manner," he said in
an email. Villablanca works at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and is vitally
interested in the data from Pacific Grove. He is the Scientific Advisor
for the Monarch Alert program. Says Villablanca: "At the current
time we do not know if the PG Sanctuary population count is low
because of something peculiar to this site (e.g.: tree trimming),
or if the populations are low range-wide and across all sites.

"Within the next few weeks, and certainly by the Thanksgiving
count we will have the data to argue for a catastrophic year
overall, or for a catastrophic tree trimming event at the
Sanctuary, or for late arrivals."He's not ready to panic, either.
"I would call for calm minds to prevail until we have some
data... the story will make itself evident."

Thanksgiving has been the benchmark count for a number of years.
Figures kept by the Xerces Society show that the lowest count was
4,700 in 2002. With the Thanksgiving count a little more than a
week away, only about 500 butterflies have been seen at any
one time in the Sanctuary.

Lori Mannel, Director of the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural
History, is also cautious about assigning blame for the low counts.
"This discussion and the conclusions being drawn are a bit premature
for me. It1s too early to tell the degree that the PG Monarch
population has declined this overwintering season. If the entire
overwintering season does exhibit reduced population numbers,
then there are multiple possible explanations (e.g., El Nino storm,
construction at neighboring Adult School, natural variance.)," she
said. "I do know that in some years Natural Bridges [an overwintering
  sanctuary in Santa Cruz County] has more Monarchs and in some
years PG has more. If the Sanctuary is no longer ideal, then it
would be interesting to know why they haven't moved to George
Washington Park as they have in the past? We clearly still have
a lot to learn."

According to Pacelli, there are no large clusters of butterflies at
George Washington Park, but there have not been for a number
of years, either, he says.

At least one private property owner has contacted Cedar Street
Times to report that there are clusters on her property, but she is
reluctant to have either scientists, city officials or tourists coming
onto her property for a number of reasons, not the least of which
is liability for their safety.

Pacific Grove's sanctuary ordinance calls for city council approval
for tree trimming in the sanctuary during the overwintering season,
from October through January. The trimming was done, according
to Director of Public Works Celia Martinez, at the end of September.
"The code allows trimming for site maintenance, health, safety and
welfare," she said. The arborist, Rick Katen, monitored the trimming.
Clearly, the need for data is strong before the reasons for the
abnormal count can be learned.

Hi, Dee Dee:

You certainly are not too late to receive some of our Monarch Alert tags,
however I have no means to communicate with you without an address,. and I
am not sure if you live in California, altho residents in all of the states
WEST of the Rockies are invited to participate.

Looking forward to getting more details from you, and I wondered if you
raise other butterflies as well as Monarchs.
                                              Helen Johnson - Monarch Alert


----- Original Message -----
From: "DeeDee" <sweetmbf@...>
To: <hjohnson1952@...>
Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 8:53 AM
Subject: Tagging


Dear Helen, I have a small butterfly business. I would love to be able to
tag some. I know it is too late this year. I have never been able to get the
info. I need to tag them. Perhaps you could let me know how to go about
this. Thank you Helen.            DeeDee

Download a .pdf of the Ceder Street Times here:
http://tinyurl.com/ylnb6lp
Then scroll down to page 15 to view the butterfly article.

Excellent article, but it doesn't explain in detail why the
City of Pacific Grove apparently did not realize the pruning
operation it carried out in late Sept. had the potential to
ruin the suitability of the cluster habitats and cause
the butterfly population to plummet severely.

Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.