Urgent Action to Save Monarch Butterflies

It’s not too late to save the monarch butterfly.

Fewer than 2,000 western monarch butterflies overwintered in California in 2020, an alarming 99.9% decline since the 1980s.

River Partners is already working with a strong coalition of scientists and conservation partners to reintroduce monarch habitat at the largest coordinated scale in the western U.S.

Statewide

Project Impact

595 acres of expanded habitat

30,000+ pollinator-friendly flowers planted

8+ critical sites statewide

PLUS
habitat kits delivered through our native plant nursery, Heritage Growers and partners at Xerces Society

It’s Not Too Late for the Western Monarch Butterfly

Climate change disruptions to monarch migration patterns, pesticide use, and loss of habitat across their migration corridors places western monarchs at critical risk of extinction unless we adopt an all-hands approach to save them. Restoring river corridor habitat is a leading strategy.

River Partners is taking a two-pronged approach to rapidly reintroduce monarch habitat:

With a group of dedicated public agency and nonprofit partners, we are planting nearly 600 acres of milkweed — essential to the monarch’s life cycle — and other monarch-friendly plants along rivers and streams in eight critical sites across California.

River Partners is sourcing large quantities of additional seed and plants to add milkweed and other nectar-rich natives to our other restoration sites statewide. Planting milkweed and other native plants along river corridors supports monarchs as well as other at-risk species up and down the food chain.

“Key parts of the monarch’s lifecycle are being supported by these restoration sites. They weren’t able to breed at these sites before because there was no habitat for them.”

Angela LawsXerxes Society Conservation Biologist

Monarch Resources

If you’d like to help monarch butterflies in your own backyard, please visit our partners at the Xerces Society for information about how your garden can support monarchs and other pollinators. You can find more facts about monarchs and statewide efforts to save them at Monarch Joint Venture.