Monarch Butterfly Conservation Perspectives Mexican Monarch Butterfly Conservationists: Unknown and Unsung By Jordi Honey-Rosés Jordi Honey-Rosés March 15, 2004 Interests north of the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo) have largely driven Monarch butterfly conservation since the “discovery” of the overwintering sites in 1975. Many are familiar with the story of Fred Urquhart and his wife, both Canadians, who led the tagging program and the search for the Monarch colonies in the 1970’s. In the subsequent years primarily American researchers such as Dr. Lincoln Brower and Bill Calvert led Monarch Butterfly research. Only a handful of Mexicans have published about the Monarch butterfly and its overwintering habitat: Alonso, Arellano, García, Hoth, Montesinos, Merino, Ramírez, and Rendón. Despite their work, Mexican efforts to protect the Monarch’s overwintering sites are overlooked, not well communicated, or not fully understood by the larger North American Monarch butterfly community. Interestingly, language remains the primary communications barrier in Monarch butterfly conservation. This barrier has probably been greater for Mexico since English has been adopted as the international language. The prestigious scientific journals are printed in English and the Universities of great repute are largely found in the United States. Language is also a communication barrier between Mexican conservationists and the international press. Journalists tend to consult English speaking experts first, even when discussing issues occurring in Mexico. To complicate matters, the Mexican press is often sensationalistic and incredulous of its local sources. Thus stories in the Mexican press on Monarch butterfly conservation often focus on the more sensationalistic and negative issues. The exception occurs at the opposite extreme, when the Mexican Government will orchestrate a press conference that touches up the “successes” of their work at the overwintering sites. The reality is usually found more in the middle. And it is the inspiring stories from the local campesinos, or the day to day work of local Mexicans, that are hardly heard both in Mexico and internationally. The 2002 Monarch mortality was a relatively recent example of how the northern neighbors have continued to push forward the debate on Monarch conservation. To everyone’s surprise the 2002 mortality data that showed that more Monarchs had died in the storm than previously were have thought to overwinter. This astounding conclusion released by Dr. Lincoln Brower was published on the front page of New York Times with a color photograph in February of 2002. The news spread instantly among media outlets around the globe such as in Spain, England, France, and Argentina. Yet as shocking as the results were, they probably would have resonated in far less corners of the world had the news been released by a Mexican media source as opposed to the New York Times. Just like the 1975 National Geographic article that revealed the “discovery” of the overwintering sites, the New York Times’ unveiling of this important Monarch mortality showed how today’s debate on Monarch butterfly conservation is heavily influenced from abroad. Eduardo Rendón Salinas What was less known in the mortality story was that an experienced Mexican biologist with nearly 10 years of monitoring work at the overwintering sites, Eduardo Rendón Salinas, collected the mortality samples together with (once again) an American in the name of David Kust. Eduardo exemplifies the Mexican Monarch Butterfly conservationist whose hard work and commitment, like many of his Mexican counterparts, goes largely unrecognized. Eduardo Rendón has been working at the Monarch overwintering sites since November 1993 and currently holds the position of Sub-Director in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. He began his Monarch research as an undergraduate studying the relationship forest density and Monarch lipid loss at the overwintering sites with another Mexican researcher, Alfonso Alonso-Mejía. Eduardo went on to obtain his Masters and begin his PhD degree studying the habitat of Monarch butterflies in Mexico. His PhD work was partially funded by the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation which proved to be a wise investment since Eduardo is now one of the primary leaders in Monarch butterfly conservation in Mexico. Eduardo and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve are under tremendous pressure to manage nearly all aspects of the Protected Area with minimal resources. For example, the monitoring of the Monarch butterfly colonies alone should take a team of at least 10 well-trained biologists, however the Reserve can only count on one full time biologist on staff. This understaffing doesn’t take away the constant pressure to answer the questions of how many Monarchs arrived? Are the colonies in danger? And how many have died? The same goes for reforestation work, where the Reserve coordinated (not implemented) the planting of over a million trees a year with only one forester on staff. The Reserve also oversees the granting of tourism permits to open the sanctuaries, rural development projects, and efforts to halt the illegal logging. In short, the workload for the staff at Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve is gigantic, and all with minimal resources, a small staff yet huge demands and expectations both in Mexico and internationally. Eduardo and his Reserve staff already work weekends and stay at the office past 10 p.m. regularly. I am certain that Eduardo and his team would be able to perform better monitoring work, and publish those results if the had more time, more trained personnel, and better equipment. Fortunately, to some extent international groups support the local efforts to protect the Monarch butterfly with training, equipment and educational programs. Yet there is still much to be done. Meanwhile, it is encouraging to know that many Mexicans like Eduardo work very hard to protect the overwintering habitat of the Monarch butterfly. Writing Prompts for Your Science Journal Jordi says the language barrier is greater for Mexicans. What evidence does he give to support his opinion? The staff of the Biosphere Reserve work long days and are dedicated to their work, says Jordi. What kind of work do they do? How many specific examples can you find?   Copyright 2004 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form