United States Department of Agriculture

Conservation and Management 

of Monarch Butterflies: 

A Strategic Framework

Forest Service FS-1044 March 2015
Contents

Monarch Migration Phenomenon ........................................................................................................................ 1

Tri-National Policy Changes......................................................................................................................... 2

Migration and Breeding................................................................................................................................ 2

Monarch Forage........................................................................................................................................... 3

Sidebar: Monarch Butterflies of the Hiawatha’s Peninsula Point .................................................................. 4

Monarch Population Statistics...................................................................................................................... 5

Management Tools To Restore Monarch Habitat.......................................................................................... 6

Diseases and Parasites .................................................................................................................................. 7

Availability of Seeds and Plants Important to Monarch Butterflies................................................................ 7

Sidebar: Oak Woodland Restoration......................................................................................................... 8

Research Needs and Initiatives..................................................................................................................... 8

Habitat Management Needs ......................................................................................................................... 9

Public Outreach Needs .............................................................................................................................. 10

Engage .............................................................................................................................................................. 11

Citizen Science........................................................................................................................................... 11

Public and Private Partnerships.................................................................................................................. 12

Sidebar: Invasive Swallow-Wort Assessment and Control at Peninsula Point .............................................. 13

Sidebar: Ouachita Mountains................................................................................................................. 15

Management...................................................................................................................................................... 17

Conservation Actions for Monarch Butterfly............................................................................................... 17

Sidebar: Management of Monarch Butterfly Overwintering Groves on the Los Padres National Forest.......... 18

The Way Forward ............................................................................................................................................. 20

Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

1

Monarch Migration Phenomenon

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus L.) 

are one of the most recognizable and 

charismatic insects of North America. 

Ranging across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, 

monarchs are especially noted for the long-distance, 

seasonal migrations they undertake each year from 

overwintering areas in the coastal California and Oyamel 

fir (Abies religiosa) forests of central Mexico to their 

northernmost range in southern Canada.

Like many other pollinators, monarch butterfly populations are facing serious declines. The amazing annual 

migrations through Mexico, the United States, and 

Canada capture the hearts and minds of communities 

along their path and bring countries together for the 

cause of monarch conservation. As autumn approaches 

and the availability of flowering plants becomes limited 

in northern areas, monarch butterflies leave the nectarrich areas of native habitat they depend on during most 

of the year to seek areas for winter layovers. From 

inland mountains and meadows in the Western United 

States, monarch butterflies flock to critical forest habitat 

along coastal California, where they cling to the leaves 

of eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and other trees, and 

then to each other, forming long cascading tendrils of 

fluttering black and orange wings. Similarly, monarch 

butterflies from Eastern Canada and the Eastern United 

States migrate southward to high mountain forests 

in Mexico to spend the winter, clustering tightly on 

Oyamel fir tree trunks and branches. As spring approaches, monarch butterfly populations return 

northbound to flower-rich areas in the Southern and 

Western United States, and three to four generations 

later, arrive at the northeastern limits of their range. 

Monarchs mate along their migration routes and lay 

eggs on milkweed plants across the Nation. Eye-catching 

yellow, black, and white caterpillars feeding on milkweed will morph inside a gold-flecked, lime-green 

chrysalis into a stunning orange, black, and white adult 

butterfly. The mysterious cycle of migration continues 

annually, with newly hatched monarchs instinctively 

knowing where to head for the next stage of the 

migration phenomenon. When fall arrives, the greatgreat-grandchildren of the original overwintering 

monarch butterflies embark on the migration route 

of their ancestors, finding the same forests to spend 

the winter in that their predecessors had found generations ago. How they consistently flock to the same 

locations during migration remains to this day one of 

science’s unsolved mysteries.

Not long ago, accumulated masses of monarch butterflies on fir trees in Mexico were heavy enough to 

cause entire branches to break. For more than a decade, monarch butterfly numbers have been declining 

yearly and population estimates for 2014 are at record 

low levels—so low that scientists fear the migration 

phenomenon and monarch butterfly populations as a 

species are at heightened risk of extinction. Monarch 

butterflies need our intervention to continue to exist 

on the planet.
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

2

Tri-National Policy Changes

On February 19, 2014, the White House released the 

“Joint Statement by North American Leaders—21st 

Century North America: Building the Most Competitive and Dynamic Region in the World.” Under the 

section, “New Areas of Opportunity,” U.S. President 

Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen 

Harper, and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto 

issued the following statement:

We will continue to collaborate in the protection of our region’s biodiversity and to 

address other environmental challenges, such 

as wildlife trafficking and ecosystems at risk. 

Our governments will establish a working 

group to ensure the conservation of the 

Monarch butterfly, a species that symbolizes 

our association.

On June 20, 2014, the White House released a 

“Presidential Memorandum—Creating a Federal 

Strategy To Promote the Health of Honey Bees and 

Other Pollinators.” The memo’s introduction states 

the following:

The number of migrating Monarch butterflies 

sank to the lowest recorded population level 

in 2013-14 and there is imminent risk of 

failed migration.

Further,

Sec. 2 Mission and Function of the Task Force. 

Within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, the Task Force shall develop a National 

Pollinator Health Strategy (Strategy), which 

shall include explicit goals, milestones and 

metrics to measure progress. The Strategy shall 

include the following components:

(a) Pollinator Action Plan.

(iii) assessments of the status of native 

pollinators, including the Monarch 

butterfly...

A statement released by Bob Periciasepe, Deputy Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency, and 

Krysta Harden, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), emphasized that—

The memorandum also requires federal 

agencies to lead by example, taking specific 

measures to substantially expand pollinator 

habitat on federal lands and to build on federal efforts with public-private partnerships.

With this direction, the Forest Service, as an agency 

of USDA, issues this timely and critically needed 

document, Conservation and Management of Monarch 

Butterflies: A Strategic Framework. This framework will 

guide the Forest Service to effectively and efficiently 

use available resources and engage public and private 

partnerships in taking action for the conservation of 

the monarch butterfly.

Migration and Breeding

Two major populations of monarch butterflies occur 

in the United States. The eastern population generally 

occurs east of the Rocky Mountains. The western population is primarily located in California, with some 

outlier populations in Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona.
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

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In the Western United States, annual migration patterns for monarch butterflies are related to areas where 

milkweed (Asclepias spp.) grows. Abundance of adult 

monarchs is driven by annual precipitation that supports late-season milkweeds suitable for caterpillars, 

and by suitable temperature regimes that allow for 

completion of the monarch life cycle.

Each spring, monarch butterflies of the eastern population migrate north from their overwintering sites in 

the States of Michoacán and México and lay eggs in 

northern parts of Mexico and southern Texas. Survival 

of the first generation is the most important. Adult 

monarch butterflies of the next generation fly farther 

north until they reach their breeding areas, which 

include the Central and Eastern United States and as 

far north as southern Canada. The Corn Belt in the 

Midwestern United States is the most important area 

for breeding.

During late summer and fall, monarch butterflies 

migrate back toward Mexico, primarily through a 

“central flyway” from southern Ontario, Canada, 

through Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma; 

then south through Texas and central Mexico. The 

fifth monarch generation of the year occurs in Texas, 

borne from adults that originated in northern breeding areas. Adults arriving on overwintering grounds 

in autumn are generations distant from those that 

originally left the same overwintering grounds the 

previous spring.

A nonmigratory population of monarch butterflies 

resides in southern Florida along the Gulf Coast. This 

resident population breeds continuously throughout 

the year on a tropical milkweed species, Asclepias 

curassavica, which is a common introduced species 

often cultivated in gardens that survives through 

autumn.

Monarch Forage

Along their migration routes and on their summer 

ranges, monarch butterflies require two suites of plants: 

(1) host plants for monarch caterpillars, which are 

primarily milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) within the family 

Apocynaceae upon which adult monarchs lay eggs; 

and (2) nectar-producing flowering plants of many 

other species that provide food for adult butterflies. 

Having both host and nectar plants available from 

early spring to late fall and along migration corridors 

is critical to the survival of migrating pollinators.

Within the plant family Apocynaceae, several species 

of the invasive European species, Vincetoxicum (often 

taxonomically placed in Cynanchum), attract female 

monarch butterflies to oviposit, or lay eggs, on their 

stems and leaves. This leads to imminent starvation of 

emerging monarch caterpillars, because they are unable to survive on the foliage of this nonnative plant.

Important nectar sources during the fall migration 

include late-flowering genera of the plant family Asteraceae, including goldenrods (Solidago spp.), asters 

(Symphyotrichum spp. and Eurybia spp.), gayfeathers 

(Liatris spp.), and coneflowers (Echinacea spp.) in the 

north and frostweed (Verbesina virginica) in Texas. 

Cultivated alfalfa, clover, and sunflowers are also 

critical nectar sources for monarchs.

Changes in climate will impact the distribution and 

availability of plant species important to monarch 

populations. Increasingly threatened Oyamel fir 
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

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MONARCH BUTTERFLIES 

OF THE HIAWATHA’S PENINSULA POINT

In late summer and early autumn, one generation of monarch butterflies undergoes a mysterious transformation, 

pausing their development into mature adults. The butterflies become the generation that migrates up to 2,000 

miles to their overwintering grounds in Mexico, where they 

will transform into adults the following spring.

When the monarch butterflies begin their southern journey, 

they rely on topographical features to navigate, such as 

the Great Lakes shoreline, and they congregate where 

the land juts into points. One point in particular, Peninsula 

Point, Michigan, has a large annual congregation of migrating monarch butterflies. Although never previously making 

a migratory trip, these great monarch butterflies somehow 

seem to know Peninsula Point affords them the shortest 

distance across the open waters of Little Bay de Noc and 

Green Bay to Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula.

In the early 1990s, C.J. Meitner made an inquiry into the 

importance of the annual congregation of monarch butterflies 

at Peninsula Point in a study funded by Wildlife Unlimited 

of Delta County. This study concluded that Peninsula Point 

was a nursery and a migration gathering area for monarch 

butterflies. Peninsula Point has become a unique area to 

study two important aspects of the wondrous monarch 

butterfly’s life history—reproduction and migration.

Volunteers from a wide variety of career backgrounds exclusively conduct studies. Together, they collect scientific 

data used by researchers at several universities across 

the Midwestern and Eastern United States. Despite the 

remote nature of Peninsula Point, more than 65 individuals 

have volunteered since 1993. For periods of 12 years and 

up to 18 years, several hard-working, dedicated volunteers 

have been maintaining the research program and actively 

conducting monarch butterfly research.

Every week from June through September, a small group 

of volunteers walks random transects through two wildlife 

openings that are managed to provide suitable nectaring 

sources and milkweed for egg-laying monarch butterflies. 

Clipboards in hand, the volunteers count each milkweed 

plant along with the number of monarch eggs and caterpillars. 

The stage of the development of the caterpillars (instars) 

are counted and recorded. Weather data are also collected, 

which help researchers track local differences in climate 

over time. This data collection is a part of the Monarch 

Larval Monitoring Program (MLMP) that is based at the 

University of Minnesota. Data from Peninsula Point comprise one of the longest datasets in this program. Protocols 

developed at the site have been replicated across the United 

States at more than 1,025 other MLMP research sites.

As summer progresses into autumn and days turn to 

nights, monarch butterflies roost in the cedar trees along 

the shoreline. They become active as the morning sun 

warms and dries the dew from their wings. During this 

time, when the monarch butterflies are preparing for the 

start of their journey, volunteers run a mid-day census 

route to count the roosting monarch butterflies. If the roost 

numbers are high, before the butterflies depart on light 
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

5

northerly breezes and follow a cool front, volunteers use a net 

to temporarily capture the butterflies. Volunteers gently apply a 

small adhesive sticker with a serial number on the hind wing of 

the butterfly. The volunteers record the serial number, date, and 

sex of the butterfly on a datasheet. If butterflies are recovered, 

the tag information aids researchers in understanding regional 

migration patterns, the effect of weather on migration, the successful arrival of migrants, and the routes that the butterflies use, 

and the information helps researchers estimate fall populations. 

Tagging data are sent to Monarch Watch, a program under 

the direction of O.R. (Chip) Taylor at the University of Kansas. 

Throughout the entire time of the Monarch Watch program, more 

than 16,000 recoveries have been made. More than 21 tag 

recoveries have been made from monarch butterflies tagged at 

Peninsula Point and from locations as far away as 1,950 miles.

The butterflies’ annual appearance also coincides with visits by 

hundreds of monarch butterfly fans from across the country to 

watch the butterflies gather in late summer and early fall. The 

best month is August, although migration continues throughout 

September when the peninsula’s hardwoods begin to take on 

their fall colors.

forests of Mexico may vanish by the end of the century, 

which will necessitate intervention through assisted 

migration (managed relocation) of tree species to adapt 

their ranges to future climatic conditions. Assisted 

migration of plants may be required at the northern 

edge of the monarch’s range, as well, to accommodate 

changes in the ranges of desired milkweed and other 

native flowering plants important to monarch survival.

Monarch Population Statistics

Annual surveys of the western monarch population 

overwintering on the California coast reveal a nearly 

90-percent decline during the past decade. The 

eastern monarch population overwintering in Mexico 

was at an all-time high in the winter of 1996–97, and 

at an all-time low in the winter of 2013–14, which 

is represented by a 97-percent decline in occupied 

overwintering habitat. Approximately 70 percent of 

monarch butterflies that migrate to Mexico may be 

feeding on milkweed plants growing on agricultural 

land in the United States.

Because the population numbers of monarchs in the 

Midwest United States are positively correlated with 

counts of the subsequent overwintering population 

in Mexico, reduced overwintering populations are 

likely to be the result of the loss of milkweeds in the 

Midwest. Loss of milkweed is coincident with the increased use of glyphosate herbicide for transgenic glyphosate-resistant corn and soybean crops, otherwise 

known as “Round-Up Ready” plants. Degradation and 

elimination of habitat in Mexico and extreme weather 

events at overwintering sites have also been implicated 

as contributing factors to the decrease in monarch 

population size. Many scientists maintain that the 

loss of milkweed plants in the Midwest (due to the 
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

6

adoption of genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant 

crops) is paramount—rather than climate change or 

forest degradation in Mexico (Jepsen et al.).

Droughts in Texas may also have affects on monarch 

populations. High spring precipitation in Texas is associated with the largest annual population growth of 

monarchs in Ohio, suggesting that spring droughts in 

Texas likely have a negative impact on the important, 

first generation of monarch butterflies arising during 

northbound migration.

Management Tools To Restore 

Monarch Habitat

Roadside weed control practices can affect forage 

and breeding habitat for monarch butterflies. Poorly 

timed mowing can interfere with monarch breeding 

and egg-laying. Applying herbicides could remove 

milkweeds and other important native plants along 

the monarch migration route.

Prescribed fire has been shown to be an effective 

management tool for improving habitat for monarch 

butterflies and other pollinators. In the tallgrass prairies 

of Oklahoma, summer burning regenerates milkweed 

plants that are highly desired by southbound breeding 

adult monarchs, providing important late-season 

breeding opportunities for the generation en route 

to Mexico. In forest habitats, prescribed burning to 

maintain shortleaf pine savannahs in Arkansas has 

improved the abundance of nectar sources for monarch butterflies and threatened fritillary butterflies. 

Forested stands in eastern Texas and Arkansas that 

have been regularly burned to support endangered 

red-cockaded woodpeckers have improved forb abundance in the understory that supports nectar feeders, 

including monarch butterflies. In the Western United 

States, burned patches and fuel breaks support greater 

butterfly diversity.

Grazing, another management tool used for restoring 

habitats such as grassland prairies, often is used in conjunction with prescribed fire treatments. The intensity 

of grazing affects butterfly abundance and diversity. 

In remnant prairie in Iowa, monarch butterflies have 

been found in higher densities in lightly grazed units 

compared with burned-only units and burned-plusgrazed units. Monarch butterflies in grasslands in Iowa 

and Missouri have been found in lower densities in 

excessively grazed-and-burned units, compared with 

burned-only units. The stocking rate of cattle on the 

landscape is a critical variable to consider when using 

grazing as a management tool for habitat restoration 

for butterflies.

Timber harvest also can be used as a tool to improve 

habitat conditions for monarch butterflies. Thinning 

dense forest stands creates canopy gaps and allows 

for more sunlight to reach the forest floor, stimulating 

growth of herbaceous vegetation that can serve as host 

and nectar sources for monarch butterflies. Regeneration harvest creates large openings of early successional habitat that can provide host and flowering plants 

for several years, until the regenerating forest shades 

out the herbaceous component. Restoration of savannahs and woodlands is an excellent tool for monarch 

conservation. Savannahs and woodlands are managed 

for fewer trees and more herbaceous vegetation, with 

trees widely scattered so they do not shade out the 

herbaceous component. All ground-based timber 

harvests require roads, skid trails, and log landings; 

and these areas are seeded with a monarch-friendly 

seed mix after harvesting is completed.
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

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Diseases and Parasites

Monarch butterflies are susceptible to a variety of 

diseases caused by parasites and are preyed upon by 

parasitoids and general predators. The best studied 

monarch parasite is the specialist protozoan, Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, whose spores are found on the 

scales of monarch adults and are spread from adults to 

larvae. Parasite spores on monarch adults are deposited or scattered onto eggs and milkweed and then 

ingested by their larvae. The parasite can reduce larval 

survival, butterfly size, life span, mating success, and 

ability to fly. The prevalence of infection by O. elektroscirrha increases with monarch density at local scales 

and is negatively correlated to ability to migrate. Infection prevalence is highest in sedentary monarch 

populations, such as those in southern Florida, with 

about 70 percent of individuals being heavily infected. 

Infection with the protozoan decreases in migratory 

populations of monarchs, and approximately 30 percent of western monarch individuals and 8 percent 

of eastern monarch individuals are heavily infected. 

Other parasites that have been observed in wild and 

captive monarch populations include a nuclear polyhedrosis virus, Psudomonas bacteria, microsporidian 

Nosema species, and horsehair worms in the phylum 

Nematomorpha. Parasitoid insects deposit their eggs 

in host individuals and the developing parasitoid 

larvae consume the host from the inside, killing the 

host. Parasitoids on monarch butterflies include flies 

and wasps that parasitize the monarch larvae. The 

parasitism rate from tachinid flies varies from 5 to 

20 percent in localized monarch populations.

Pesticide and herbicide use reduces butterfly abundance 

and survival. In southern Florida, mosquito control 

activities were associated with declines of several 

butterfly species. Recent work indicates that butterflies 

are more susceptible than honeybees to insecticides 

used for mosquito control; therefore, butterflies should 

be considered in insect testing of pesticides.

Availability of Seeds and Plants 

Important to Monarch Butterflies

Among the 70 to 76 species of milkweed native to 

the United States (depending on the taxonomy used), 

about 30 of them have been documented as monarch 

larval hosts. In North America, the total number of 

species is about 110, and at least 29 milkweed species 

occur within the critical habitat of the Central United 

States. The most widely used monarch host plant in 

the Northern United States and Southern Canada is 

the common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca. This species 

readily occupies disturbed areas and has expanded its 

range in the Central and Northeastern United States and 

Southeastern Canada due to conversion of grasslands 

and forests to agriculture. As many as 70 percent of 

the monarch butterflies that migrate to Mexico may 

have fed on milkweed growing on agricultural land in 

the Midwestern United States.

Of the 30 or so milkweed species known to host 

monarch larvae, only 19 species have known details 

on seed availability. Seeds are publicly available by 

the pound for only seven species, by the ounce for 

another five species, and in small packets (suitable for 

home gardens) for three more species.

In 2014, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation published a listing of the availability of regionally 

sourced seeds. In Western United States, availability 

ranges from very limited to limited for all areas 

except California. In the Central United States, seed 
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

8

OAK WOODLAND 

RESTORATION

The staff of George Washington and Jefferson National 

Forests in Virginia and West Virginia work with a number 

of partners to restore and maintain habitat that is favorable to monarch butterflies. Using tools such as silvicultural, 

open lands, prescribed fire, and roadside management, 

habitat that is critical for this species is found at a 

landscape scale across the 1.8 million acres that the 

staff administers.

Open woodland communities, young forest habitat, 

grasslands, shrublands, and open wetland communities 

each provide unique habitat beneficial not only to monarch 

butterflies, but also to other rare and declining pollinators, 

such as the Appalachian grizzled skipper, diana fritillary, 

and frosted elfin.

supply is limited in the northern Great Plains, good in 

the southern Great Plains, and very good in the Great 

Lakes region and the Midwestern United States. In the 

Eastern United States, the mid-Atlantic region has good 

seed availability but the Northeastern United States seed 

supply is very limited.

Based on Bailey’s (1995) ecoregions, Monarch Watch 

developed provisional seed zones in 2014 and currently 

has supplies of seeds available for five species of milkweed: 

Asclepias incarnata, A. syriaca, A. tuberosa, A. viridis, and 

A. speciosa in eight ecoregions. Of these ecoregions, five 

(221 [A. incarnata], 231 [A. incarnata, A. syriaca, A. viridis], 

331 [A. speciosa], M331 [A. speciosa], and 342 [A. speciosa]) 

appear to encompass Forest Service-managed forests and 

grasslands.

Quality control in the transfer of seeds within and 

between different ecoregions is necessary to ensure that 

genetically appropriate, locally adapted native plant materials are available and used for restoration of habitat.

Research Needs and Initiatives

•	 Document status of U.S. milkweed species distribution and availability to support monarch larvae.

•	 Provide multiyear data for eastern and western 

monarch populations to generate dynamic models 

that combine adult movement patterns with population dynamics, climate, and changes in land use to 

more effectively identify areas for restoring habitat 

and to identify additional factors that may influence 

monarch population dynamics. The models should 

link migratory connectivity across the landscape with 

local population dynamics driven by climate and 

resource availability.
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

9

•	 Analyze patterns of abundance throughout the 

monarch annual migration cycle for both eastern 

and western monarch populations.

•	 Assess milkweed abundance and distribution on 

Forest Service-managed forests and grasslands.

•	 Conduct studies of farmland pesticide impacts on 

monarch larvae and adult butterflies (and other 

species of butterfly) in North America to add to 

existing research primarily from Europe.

•	 Conduct more definitive work on Bacillus thuringiensis effects on a larger suite of Lepidoptera, 

including monarch butterflies.

•	 Establish basic seed biology and seed handling 

protocols for all North American milkweeds; for 

example, minimum number of individuals needed 

to sustain milkweed populations, self-fertilization 

versus out-crossing, seed-cleaning techniques, 

germination requirements, collection guidelines, 

number of seeds per pound of seeds, appropriate 

short- and long-term seed storage conditions, and 

causes of poor seed setting in isolated milkweed 

populations.

•	 Conduct common garden studies for prolific and 

resilient milkweed species to assess adaptive traits.

•	 Identify and implement dynamic seed transfer 

guidelines suitable for current and predicted 

climate conditions.

•	 Provide milkweed (and other native flowering 

forbs) establishment techniques using seeds and 

seedlings in farm filter strips, riparian buffer zones, 

and highway and utility rights-of-way. Include 

information on optimal seedling type(s), seedling 

storage, optimum out-planting periods, weed control, 

and optimum regional species blends.

•	 Develop control techniques (integrated pest management, best management practices) for plant fungal 

diseases during nursery production and seed increase of milkweeds. Update the milkweed section 

of the Agriculture Handbook 165 published in 

1960.

•	 Conduct more work on monarch egg/larvae vulnerability and biology of predators. Anecdotal 

observations in the Western United States suggest 

a high predation of eggs.

•	 Increase rhizome production/efficiency for outplanting and subsequent success of milkweed.

•	 Study the effects of prescribed burn seasonality and 

intensity on forb abundance and composition in a 

variety of forest/savannah/prairie ecosystems along 

the central flyway, the longleaf pine zone, and the 

Mid-Atlantic zone.

•	 Study the effects of prescribed burn block size on 

monarch habitat availability and suitability for both 

larvae and adults. Reduce forest stand densities to 

allow for development of herbaceous understory, 

which will include host and nectar plants.

Habitat Management Needs

•	 Reduce forest stand densities to allow for development of herbaceous understory, which includes 

host and nectar plants.

•	 Accelerate restoration of prairies, savannahs, and 

woodlands on appropriate sites.
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

10

•	 Develop local monarch-friendly seed mixes for restoration efforts, soil stabilization, wildlife openings, 

and other resource opportunities.

•	 Manage the landscape to provide host and nectar 

sources from spring to fall.

•	 Maximize benefits to monarch butterflies without 

compromising their safety by controlling the timing 

of mowing wildlife openings and roadsides (best 

mowing time is in late winter).

•	 Time prescribed burning so that it does not coincide with migration. This approach is extremely 

important in the Southern Region, where firstgeneration monarch butterflies migrate north and 

last-generation monarch butterflies migrate south 

into Mexico.

•	 Accelerate efforts to control nonnative invasive 

plant species to increase abundance and diversity 

of butterflies and native bees.

•	 Develop local milkweed seed production areas.

•	 Reduce the amount of grass mowed by establishing 

pollinator gardens at administrative and recreation 

sites. Ensure that interpretation signs are provided 

at these pollinator gardens for better public understanding.

Public Outreach Needs

•	 Reduce public perception of milkweed as “weedy” 

by providing information about its benefits to 

pollinators.

•	 Describe better pasture management practices to 

avoid potential problems with livestock toxicity.

•	 Describe potential use of milkweeds in informal 

and formal landscapes, especially within pollinator 

gardens and corridors.

•	 Develop and encourage use of locally adapted milkweed seed sources (and other native forbs) and 

discourage long-distance transfer of germplasm 

by entities seeking to distribute single-species 

milkweed nationwide.

•	 Engage and leverage technical expertise within 

the Forest Service (for example, National Center 

for Reforestation, Nursery, and Genetic Resources; 

National Agroforestry Center; National Seed Laboratory; State and Private Forestry).

•	 Work with tribal governments through the Intertribal Timber Council and Intertribal Nursery 

Council to promote out-planting and conservation 

of milkweeds.

•	 More effectively disseminate provisional seed 

transfer guidelines (i.e., easy to access and easy to 

use) for native plants in general and milkweeds in 

particular.

•	 Engage the public in monarch conservation through 

the Forest Service State and Private Forestry and 

Urban and Community Forestry programs. This 

approach is very important in the East, where 

less than 10 percent of the land base is in public 

ownership.

•	 Develop pollinator conservation exhibits to use in 

conservation education programs.
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

11

Engage

Citizen Science

Numerous citizen-science opportunities currently exist 

within the United States and Mexico to track monarch 

migrations, establish status of overwintering sites, and 

monitor larval populations on milkweed. Successful 

citizen-science programs have protocols in place that 

may be standardized as universally recognized methods 

to monitor monarch populations. The Forest Service 

will contact the program leads to identify commonly 

used tools or will develop a new protocol that will 

be shared with monarch monitors in the public and 

private sectors.

National Efforts in the United States

•	 MonarchNet has been a centralized resource of 

monarch monitoring data from a number of butterflyand monarch butterfly-focused citizen-science 

programs since 2009.

•	 Monarch Watch has implemented an internationally accepted tagging method that gives even 

untrained observers the opportunity to report 

encounters with marked monarch butterflies in any 

location they are found. The dataset currently has 

more than 1 million tagged monarch butterflies 

and more than 16,000 reported tag recoveries.

•	 The Butterfly and Moth Information Network

hosts Butterflies and Moths of North America, 

or BAMONA, a Web site to provide general information about nearly 6,000 Lepidoptera species with 

high-quality photos and identification tools.

•	 The North American Butterfly Association

hosts a butterfly count program for citizen scientists 

to collect data about any North American butterfly 

population.

•	 Journey North tracks certain migratory species, 

including monarch butterflies, to record seasonal 

and climate-related changes.

•	 eButterfly enables citizen scientists across North 

America to report butterfly sightings and upload 

and store their photos in a personal profile.

•	 The Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, since 

1997, has used citizen scientists to track monarch 

eggs and larvae on milkweed across North America 

during the breeding season.

•	 Project Monarch Health, a collaborative study 

between citizen scientists and the University of 

Georgia, seeks to better understand Ophryocystis 

elektroscirrha, a microscopic protozoan parasite of 

monarch butterflies, more commonly known as OE.

Regional and Local Efforts in the United States

•	 Peninsula Point Monitoring Project, managed 

by the Forest Service, monitors monarch larvae and 

conducts migration counts at an important stopover site on the northern shore of Lake Michigan.

•	 Monarch Monitoring Project/Cape May Monitoring Project records Atlantic coast migrations in the 

fall at locations in West Cape May and Cape May 

Point, NJ.

•	 The Southwest Monarch Study tracks migration 

and breeding patterns of monarch butterflies in the 

Southwestern United States, most notably Arizona, 

where both eastern and western migratory populations are seen. 
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

12

•	 Monarch Alert focuses primarily on sampling and 

tagging overwintering clusters found in San Luis 

Obispo and Monterey Counties, CA.

•	 The Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count, 

which has been staged by The Xerces Society since 

1997, observes and collects data on monarch 

butterflies overwintering along the California coast 

during the weeks of Thanksgiving and New Year.

•	 The Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network 

is a citizen-science-based population monitoring 

program in Illinois.

•	 The Ohio Butterfly Monitoring Program of the 

Ohio Society of Lepidopterists focuses on longterm monitoring of butterfly populations in the 

State.

Public and Private Partnerships

Forest Service public and private partnerships are 

essential to successfully implement monarch butterfly 

habitat restoration and overall monarch conservation. 

Primary partnership with the Monarch Joint Venture 

(MJV) enables Federal and State agencies, nongovernment organizations, academic programs, and private 

industry to coordinate efforts that support collaborative monarch conservation initiatives associated 

with protecting and restoring monarch habitat and 

improving migration within the United States. MJV 

is an extensive collaboration that supports habitat; 

maintains and enhances monarch butterfly habitat; 

improves and restores areas; and provides improved 

access to and delivery of education, research, and 

monitoring activities.

Some current and traditional partners under the MJV 

include—

•	 National Forest Foundation.

•	 The Nature Conservancy.

•	 Private industry.

•	 Private citizens.

•	 Schools and universities.

Partnerships with national nonprofit organizations (e.g., 

the Pollinator Partnership) are important in helping to 

elevate collaborative conservation efforts in areas such 

as utility rights-of-way, monarch habitat development 

on corporate lands, and education initiatives related to 

the importance of host and nectar plants for monarch 

butterflies. These organizations facilitate mutually 

beneficial partner relationships that fulfill the needs 

of monarch butterflies, share valuable resources, and 

enhance partnerships.

Forest Service partnerships with longstanding collaborators, such as Prince William Network, National 

Project Learning Tree-GreenSchools!, National Science 

Teachers Association, North American Association 

of Environmental Educators, and the Ad Council’s 

Discover the Forest Campaign, have been vital in 

interfacing with a broad public, from schoolchildren 

and their educators to community members who are 

interested in conservation and having the opportunity 

to take actions that help.

The Forest Service continues to enhance opportunities 

through innovative partnership agreements and partnership authorities that serve as models in supporting 

these types of fruitful collaborative efforts.
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

13

INVASIVE SWALLOW-WORT ASSESSMENT AND 

CONTROL AT PENINSULA POINT

According to a study on monarch butterfly oviposition on 

swallow-worts by Casagrande and Dacey (2007), female 

monarch butterflies will lay eggs on black swallow-wort even 

when it is in the same field as common milkweed. Laboratory tests have shown that monarch caterpillars cannot feed 

on black swallow-wort, which means that swallow-worts 

act as dead-end hosts and those monarch butterfly eggs 

are essentially wasted. As if that was not enough, black

swallow-wort also comes with all the bad attributes and 

symptoms of most invasive species, such as reduction of 

biological diversity, crowding out native milkweeds, invading 

open grasslands, and allelopathy. All these effects hinder 

not only the monarch butterfly population, but they also 

affect the grass-nesting birds, insect diversity, and the 

overall ecological integrity of any environment in which 

black swallow-worts exist. Fortunately, this problem is 

being recognized and actions are beginning to take place.

The Central Upper Peninsula Cooperative Weed Management Area (CUPCWMA) has received funding this year 

from the Monarch Joint Venture, which will fund project 

efforts through 2016 to study treatment methods for black 

swallow-wort at Peninsula Point in the western Hiawatha

National Forest. The money will also fund additional surveying for possible unknown populations. Work associated 

with this project will be completed by staff from the Hiawatha 

National Forest and Superior Watershed Partnership, entities that are CUPCWMA partners. The treatments being 

tested will be the mechanical pulling of swallow-wort and 

the use of prescribed burns. The Forest Service is planning 

to establish test plots where the effectiveness of treatment 

methods can be monitored and analyzed for effectiveness.

After this treatment and subsequent monitoring process 

has been completed, CUPCWMA hopes to have a 

clear idea of what best management practices are most 

suitable for black swallow-wort control and to form a 

database on its locations along Peninsula Point. This 

project will be important in protecting a sensitive monarch 

butterfly breeding and research site at Peninsula Point and 

in providing a model for future control of these species 

in the crucial Corn Belt breeding range for eastern North 

American monarch butterflies. 
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

14

New Areas of Opportunity

The future of successful monarch butterfly conservation lies in the ability to nurture current partnerships 

and to develop nontraditional partnerships that enable 

new perspectives, viewpoints, and opportunities to 

connect with nontraditional audiences. New nontraditional audiences and partners may have the capacity 

and capability to influence residents in their communities and create positive changes within them.

•	 Develop partnership programs with youth conservation leaders and engage these youth in partnershipdriven efforts, which will allow for increased 

visibility and interest in future generations.

•	 Create connections with nontraditional stakeholders.

•	 Create more partner connections with health and 

wellness organizations and governmental agencies, 

because pollinator conservation is related to healthy 

foods and healthy living.

•	 Improve Spanish-language education and outreach 

materials to promote partnerships among Mexican 

communities that may have a direct tie to the 

monarch butterfly through its migration routes.

•	 Improve multilingual materials in partnership with 

nontraditional groups to reach broad and diverse 

audiences with information about the monarch 

conservation issues.

•	 Work with Forest Service International Programs 

to create stronger mutually beneficial partnerships 

between countries.

Expanding and Coordinating Existing Public 

Education Efforts

Existing efforts that could be expanded include the 

following.

•	 Forest Service Celebrating Wildflowers Web 

pages. “The Monarch Butterfly in North America” 

Web page contains detailed public education information and links to external online resources under 

several topics: biology, migration and overwintering, 

habitat needs, citizen science, conservation, things 

to do, teachers and students, and monarch resources 

(with 13 technical papers, 18 books, 6 field guides, 

and 16 publications oriented toward children). 

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/

Monarch_Butterfly/index.shtml.

•	 MonarchLIVE. The Forest Service Conservation 

Education and International Programs staffs, the 

Prince William Network, and multiple partners 

coordinate “MonarchLive—A Distance Learning 

Adventure.” MonarchLIVE is an online repository of education and informational resources, 

webinars, and live broadcasts around the theme 

of monarch butterflies. The project integrates 

distance-learning methods with hands-on activities 

to promote conservation and foster student-led 

research with 500,000 students in classrooms 

across Canada, Mexico, and the United States. 

http://monarch.pwnet.org/.

•	 Online training course by MJV, Monarchs in 

the Classroom, and the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project. The online training course teaches 

volunteers about natural history and monitoring. 
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

15

This course can be broadly advertised to encourage 

additional volunteers and land managers to engage 

in active monitoring and conservation of monarch 

butterflies.

•	 MJV-funded partnerships and factsheets. Core 

funding for the MJV is provided by the Forest 

Service. 

♦ MJV-funded public education partnerships 

include—

§	Monarch Citizen Science Training and Outreach (University of Minnesota Monarch Lab).

§	Monarch Larva Monitoring Project Online 

Training (University of Minnesota Monarch 

Lab).

§	North American Butterfly Association Web 

site update.

§	Promoting Citizen Science Monitoring of 

Monarchs and Milkweed in Texas (Cibolo 

Nature Center).

§	Wild for Monarchs Campaign (Wild Ones, 

Native Plants, Natural Landscapes)

♦ MJV factsheets include—

§	Milkweed Information Sheet.

§	Gardening for Monarchs.

§	Monarch Rearing Instructions.

§	Potential Risks of Growing Exotic Milkweeds 

for Monarchs.

§	Invasive Species Alert: Swallow-Wort.

§	Monarch Conservation Talking Points.

§	2009–14 Summary of MJV Accomplishments.

OUACHITA MOUNTAINS

The shortleaf pine-bluestem ecosystem restoration 

project began in 1991. The purpose is to restore 

ecosystem function to this ecosystem in the 

Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. 

Management actions include prescribed burning, 

timber harvest, both thinning and regeneration, 

and mid-story reduction. Management actions are 

coordinated with a massive research effort involving 

the Forest Service Southern Research Station and 

numerous colleges and universities. This coordination enables the Ouachita National Forest to adapt 

its management actions based on sound science. 

The total project area is nearly 350,000 acres, with 

more than 100,000 acres already in a restored 

condition. In 2013, more than 54,000 acres were 

prescribed burned, 4,600 acres had basal areas 

reduced through thinning, 1,000 acres of shortleaf 

pine were regenerated, and more than 7,000 acres 

had mid-story removal. It takes multiple treatments 

to reach a restored condition. Some of the research 

has focused on monarch migration and nectar 

resources. Areas that are undergoing restoration 

activities support increased abundances of nectar 

resources and migrating monarch compared with 

areas with untreated control activities.
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

16

Coordination efforts that could be expanded include 

the following.

•	 Existing partnerships. The Forest Service will expand coordination with existing partnerships, such 

as Prince William Network, Project Learning Tree, 

National Science Teachers Association, National 

Association of Environmental Educators, and the 

Ad Council’s Discover the Forest Campaign to update existing monarch butterfly education materials 

and identify the broadest audiences with which to 

share monarch conservation resources.

•	 Internal staffs. Internal coordination through an 

assigned Forest Service task force will be established 

among staffs in Rangelands Management and 

Vegetation Ecology; Watershed, Fish, Wildlife, Air 

and Rare Plants (including the NatureWatch Program); 

Conservation Education; Recreation, Heritage, and 

Volunteer Resources (including interpretive services 

and volunteers); and the Office of Communications.

•	 External groups. The Monarch Conservation Specialist Group, founded by Monarch Watch, coordinates monarch ambassadors consisting of regional 

experts from across the United States. This group 

provides an invaluable educational resource for 

monarch conservation by giving local monarch 

presentations and advising citizens, land managers, 

and researchers and could be a key partner in 

disseminating current information.
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

17

Management

Conservation Actions for Monarch 

Butterfly

The Monarch Joint Venture is a partnership of Federal 

and State agencies, nongovernment organizations, and 

academic programs working together to support and 

coordinate efforts to protect monarch butterfly migration across the lower 48 United States. For several years, 

the Forest Service has generated MJV reports describing the Forest Service’s accomplishments as a partner 

with the MJV. The Forest Service management actions 

that support monarch conservation include habitat 

restoration, maintenance, and enhancement; public 

education; research; and monitoring. In addition to 

providing milkweed host plants, one of the Forest 

Service’s key objectives is to provide nectar sources 

across both regions, from spring through fall, to fuel 

monarchs during the migration. The following list 

summarizes some MJV activities within the Eastern 

and Southern Regions of the Forest Service.

•	 During fiscal year (FY) 2013, the Forest Service 

Southern Region improved nearly 1 million acres 

of habitat for pollinators, including the monarch 

butterfly. These restoration efforts included precommercial and commercial timber sales, prescribed 

burning, nonnative invasive species control, and 

planting. About 40 percent of this habitat is in 

good condition, either restored or nearly so, and is 

immediately available to pollinators. The remaining 

acres are at some stages of restoration: some suitable 

but not optimal for pollinators, and some were 

treated but are yet to be of use to pollinators. Considerable attention is being given to locally sourced 

seed and plants to best maintain the genetic integrity 

of the region’s native plants.

•	 The Forest Service conducted several pollinator 

workshops in the Eastern Region, with Southern 

Region personnel also in attendance. More of these 

workshops are scheduled to be held in FY 2015—

and beyond. A main focus of the workshops is the 

development of citizen-science opportunities and 

partnerships for work on behalf of the country’s 

native pollinators, such as the monarch butterfly. 

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/eastern/

index.php.

•	 The Forest Service has developed three monarch 

butterfly brochures in cooperation with the Butterfly 

Conservation Initiative (Florida Museum of Natural 

History) for public outreach and education. These 

brochures are available at http://www.fs.fed.us/

wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/

documents/MonarchButterfliesEasternUS.pdf.

•	 The Forest Service recently worked with the MJV 

to provide the Invasive Species Alert: black swallowwort (Cynanchum louisea) and pale swallow-wort 

(C. rossicum). The MJV subsequently helped the 

Hiawatha National Forest control swallow-wort at 

the Peninsula Point Lighthouse (Michigan), which 

is an important and significant staging area for 

monarch migration.

•	 The Forest Service has monitored and tagged monarch butterflies at several key locations for decades. 

This information is shared with the monarch program at the University of Minnesota (Karen Oberhauser) and with Monarch Watch at the University 

of Kansas (Chip Taylor).
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

18

MANAGEMENT OF MONARCH BUTTERFLY 

OVERWINTERING GROVES ON THE 

LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST

Monarch butterflies have historically aggregated en 

masse in the fall and winter at numerous sites scattered along 620 miles of the California coast from 

northern Mendocino County to as far south as Baja 

California and Mexico. Most of the sites are within 

2.37 kilometers (about 1.5 miles) from the Pacific 

Ocean, which moderates temperature fluctuations. 

Local topography and forest structure determine the 

microclimate within monarch butterfly overwintering 

habitat. Many groves exist in wind-sheltered areas, 

such as bays, coastal inlets, deep stream beds, 

ravines, drainages, or mountain valleys. In California, 

monarch butterflies have been known to cluster in 

groves that contain Monterey pine (Pinus radiata), 

blue gum eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), red 

river gum eucalyptus (E. camaldulensis), Monterey 

cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa), coast redwood 

(Sequoia sempervirens), coast live oak (Quercus 

agrifolia), western sycamore (Platanus racemosa), 

willow (Salix spp.), and acacias (Acacia spp.).

Using funding from the Monarch Joint Venture in 

the winter of 2011–12, The Xerces Society (Xerces) 

surveyed the three known monarch butterfly overwintering sites on Los Padres National Forest and 

thoroughly searched for new sites at 15 potential 

locations. Xerces staff found one potential new 

transient overwintering site on Los Padres National 

Forest. They completed full monarch butterfly counts 

and habitat assessments at the known sites and the 

newly discovered site on Forest Service lands.

In the winter of 2012–13, Xerces staff conducted a 

comprehensive site analysis at the largest known overwintering site on Los Padres National Forest, Plaskett 

Creek Campground. This site has been surveyed most 

years since the 1990s and has been monitored for a 

number of years by Monarch Alert out of the California 

Polytechnic State University. This site has historically 

had large numbers of monarch butterflies, with the 

highest count of 35,000 recorded in January 1998. 

Recent surveys show that Plaskett Creek Campground 

has hosted more than 1,000 monarch butterflies within 

the past 5 years.

Three monarch butterfly overwintering sites are known 

to exist on lands managed by Los Padres National 

Forest: Plaskett Creek Campground, Prewitt Creek, and 

Sycamore Canyon. In 2012, Xerces staff identified a 

fourth potential site known as the Cal Trans Grove. This 

site is potentially on shared land between the California 

Department of Transportation and the Forest Service, 

and ownership needs to be confirmed.
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

19

Plaskett Creek Campground is the largest site on Los 

Padres National Forest land and is currently 1 of the 45 

largest sites in California. The southern half of the site 

functions as a campground, while the northern portion 

houses the Pacific Valley School, a K–12 school for 

children who live in the region.

Prewitt Creek and Sycamore Canyon are transient sites 

that monarch butterflies use as a temporary refuge in 

fall and early winter. Monarch butterflies may use these 

sites for only a portion of the season in years with normal 

weather conditions but may occupy this habitat throughout the fall and winter in years with milder weather. 

Monarch butterflies may also use these sites in the fall 

as stopovers on their way to different sites in southern 

California for the winter.

The Monterey Ranger District staff met with The Xerces 

Society staff and collaboratively established a conservation and management plan for the Plaskett Creek 

Campground site. The plan focuses on three separate 

groves within the Plaskett Creek Campground site complex: (1) the current overwintering grove directly south of 

the entrance of the campground between the driveway 

and California Highway 1, (2) a historic overwintering grove 

directly to the east of the campground, and (3) what is 

thought to be a transient or autumnal grove between 

the school and California Highway 1.

The plan provides a site description and site threats, 

and it describes management needs for each site. The 

goal is to manage the roost sites and overwintering 

monarch butterflies with minimum effect to the existing 

vegetation or camping resources.

•	 With more than 100 native plant and pollinator gardens, the Forest Service is now in 

an excellent position to provide outreach and 

education within these important topic areas. 

These gardens also provide the agency with 

much coveted locally native plant materials, 

seeds, or other propagules, which are needed 

for ecological restoration and rehabilitation. 

In concert with the gardens, the Forest Service 

also offers numerous posters, interpretative 

panels, signage, etc., related to the monarch 

butterfly and other pollinators. These materials have been tremendously important for 

public outreach and education regarding the 

needs and threats of native pollinators. http://

www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/features/panels.

shtml.

•	 The Forest Service is actively attempting to 

add native milkweed seeds (Asclepias spp.) 

and other native plants useful to native 

pollinators to the various seed mixes that are 

used in different management efforts, such 

as along roadways, openings, meadows, log 

landings, landscaping at facilities, and much 

more. Detailed information regarding MJVForest Service Accomplishments is located at 

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/

Monarch_Butterfly/conservation/

mjvaccomplishments.shtml.
Conservation and Management of Monarch Butterflies: A Strategic Framework

20

The Way Forward

Monarch butterflies and their annual 

long-distance migrations to overwintering sites in Mexico and California are 

among the most unique and spectacular biological 

phenomena in the world. The conservation and management of monarch butterflies is at a critical juncture. 

Overwintering numbers of monarch butterflies are at 

all-time lows in the Oyamel fir forests in Mexico and 

in the forests of coastal California. In February 2014, 

U.S. President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Mexican President Enrique 

Peña Nieto committed their nations to ensuring the 

conservation of monarch butterflies. The implications 

for conserving and managing monarch butterflies for 

future generations are and will be profound and complex. A successful approach will be based on thorough 

assessments, well-tailored policies, and land management actions, engaging a full range of partners and 

stakeholders across Canada, Mexico, and the United 

States in activities designed to adapt, mitigate, and 

educate for the conservation of monarch butterflies.

America’s response to the conservation and management of monarch butterflies is inherently fraught with 

risk and uncertainty. The Forest Service will need to 

adapt its conservation and land management actions 

quickly and incorporate lessons learned into future 

agency direction. The agency is ready to collaborate 

with others, sharing its knowledge, skills, and experience to ensure that present and future generations 

will continue to experience and enjoy the wondrous 

lifecycle and annual migrations of the monarch butterfly.
References

Bailey, R.G. 1995. Description of the ecoregions of the United States. http://www.fs.fed.us/land/ecosysmgmt/. (19 February 2015).

Jepsen, S.; Schweitzer, D.F.; Young, B.; Sears, N.; Ormes, M.; Black, S.H. 2015. Conservation status and ecology of the Monarch butterfly 

in the United States. Arlington, VA: NatureServe and Portland, OR: The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. 28 p.

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Cover photo: Forest Service.