Several years ago, the first threat to their survival in the mountains of Mexico occurred when logging began wiping out their small roosting territory. Earthwatch groups and other conservationists rushed to the area in protest. The Texas Monarch Watch began gathering facts and data immediately. To everyone's great relief, they discovered the report had been an accidental exaggeration. One cause of the error was the fact that Monarchs can be buried beneath the snow but on top of each other keeping those underneath protected from the cold.
Estimates now suggest that fewer than one fifth of the population perished.
Large numbers of deaths are expected each year in any case, which accounts for the smaller numbers migrating northward in spring, than the swarms that return in the fall. Ricardo Ganoa, president of Mexico Travel Advisors, a Los Angeles based tour operator specializing in Monarch tours, says that tourism to the area has actually increased due to the publicity. Millions of butterflies reside in the mountains beginning with their arrival in late November, till they start the long journey northward at the end of February. The optimum time to visit this spectacular habitat, overwhelmingly occupied by a single species, is February through March when there is a lack of rain. Certainly, the tourist influx and the revenue they bring can be weighed against the excessive foresting of the oyamel fir.