My classes initiated the Intermountain Monarch Butterfly Project. We are associated with the Monarch Program of San Diego, and have helped them determine the winter migration destinations of Intermountain Monarchs.

When we started this project back in 1994 there was little, if any, knowledge about the migration routes or roosts of the Intermountain Western population. My students helped to establish the baseline data, and recruit other schools along the western slope of the Rocky Mountains to assist in collecting this information. Thanks to some of our tags, our Monarchs have been spotted in Santa Cruz, California, which means these beautiful and delicate creatures cross the Great Basin Desert and the Sierra. Amazing!!! Our monarchs may not be going to Mexico, but we feel just as attached to them.

Each year, milkweed habitat decreases here as development expands. The number of monarchs found by my HS students declines every season. Now, I offer candy treats to elementary students to locate larvae. They collected 60 in two days. We have been tagging and releasing the Western species since 1994. This year, we are also collecting milkweed seeds which we will plant (with landowner permission) in appropriate sites. We can't sit by and watch the numbers continually decline without making an attempt to correct the situation.

Migration Highlight