PISMO BEACH, Calif. -- The Western Monarch butterfly population that overwinters in California has dropped to devastating levels, with only 1,914 individuals spotted in this year's winter count.

They've been declining for decades, but experts say they may have reached an extinction threshold in 2018 when volunteers only counted 30,000.

Angela Laws, endangered-species conservation biologist for the Xerces Society, said the population appears to be collapsing.

"It's a 99.9% drop from the '80s, when there were an estimated four million monarchs overwintering along the California coast," Laws outlined. "It's a big drop in their population. It's very worrying."

She noted reasons for the stark decline include loss of native milkweed habitat, pesticide use, development at their overwintering sites and climate change.

The Western population tends to return each winter along the California coast, from San Diego to Mendocino counties, with a particular concentration near Pismo Beach.

Deedee Soto, farm-bill pollinator conservation planner for the Xerces Society, works with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to help farmers and ranchers plant pollinator habitat on their land, mostly native milkweed and nectar plants.

"The rangelands are particularly important for monarchs because the habitat is more so protected from these heavily developed areas and areas where there's a lot of pesticide use and some habitat degradation," Soto explained.

People can help the effort to save the monarchs by reducing pesticide use in their yards and planting monarch-friendly plants.

For tips, check out savewesternmonarchs.org.

In addition, the Endangered Species Coalition is asking supporters to write letters to Congress urging lawmakers to pass the Monarch Act, a bill which would provide funding for projects to save the species.


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BOSTON -- A new survey finds widespread public support up and down the East Coast for protecting right whales from getting tangled up in fishing gear, specifically, the vertical lines that connect lobster and crab traps from the sea floor to the surface.

Katharine Deuel, marine conservation officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts, which released the poll, said nine of 10 East Coast residents surveyed said it is important for the government to protect right whales.

"The North Atlantic Right Whale is a species that is currently in crisis," Deuel explained. "It is a critically endangered species, and there are only about 350 individual right whales left swimming in our waters."

Deuel added more than 70% of respondents support closing high-risk areas for whales to certain fishing gear, and nearly 90% support fishermen using gear that doesn't harm whales, which is becoming more widely available.

She pointed out such solutions can allow right whales and fishermen to coexist, and her group is among those that filed an emergency action petition with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Ben Hellerstein, state director for Environment Massachusetts, which also joined the petition, added there have been 34 confirmed deaths of right whales in U.S. and Canadian waters in the last four years.

He noted said even when whales do not die, getting caught up in vertical lines can cause them major stress.

"Scientists actually believe that it is one of the causes of declining birth rates among the right whale population, the sort of stress of these encounters is actually making it harder for them to reproduce," Hellerstein reported.

Hellerstein stated there is something about North Atlantic right whales that resonates with people.

"You know, these animals are gentle giants," Hellerstein remarked. "They grow to be about the size of a school bus, and yet they feed almost entirely off of these small crustaceans."

The emergency action petition recommends prohibiting fishing with vertical lines in a few specific locations with the highest likelihood of right whale entanglement, one yearlong closure south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and five seasonal closures off the coast of Maine.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

CARSON CITY, Nev. - A bill just introduced in the U.S, Senate would help thousands of species stay off the Endangered Species List - including bighorn sheep, golden eagles and the Lahontan cutthroat trout in Nevada.

The Recovering America's Wildlife Act would put $1.4 billion a year toward conservation efforts. Almost 25 million of that would go to Nevada.

Russell Kuhlman, executive director of the Nevada Wildlife Federation, said the funding would save us a bundle going forward.

"It's really that an ounce of prevention is equal to a pound of cure," said Kuhlman. "In the long run, it's going to save us from spending even more money to bring them back essentially from the edge of extinction."

The bill was introduced in the U.S, House of Representatives in April but has yet to receive a hearing or a vote.

Kulhman said the money would help state, tribal and federal agencies work together to take species from one state and replenish populations elsewhere.

"Nevada was the source population that helped reintroduce desert sheep throughout the West," said Kuhlman. "And we were able to take the healthy population of sheep that we had and share them with Arizona and Utah as well. "

Gila monsters, for example, are rarely seen in Nevada these days. But Kuhlman said he hopes this bill would allow wildlife managers in New Mexico to help re-establish the lizards in the Silver State.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Wildlife experts say about one third of all wildlife species in the U.S. are in decline or vulnerable - which makes revived legislation in Congress critical to promote intervention and prevent extinction.

The Recovering America's Wildlife Act was introduced in Congress this week by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Sen Martin Heinrich - D-N.M. - and Sen. Roy Blunt - R-Mo.

Heinrich spent part of his youth living in Missouri and said a permanent funding stream is what's needed to make a positive impact.

"Whether you grow up in New Mexico or you grow up in Missouri," said Heinrich, "you remember that first fish you ever catch, you remember the monarch butterflies in your backyard and all of these species that are just not as common as they used to be."

If passed, the conservation work could be paid for through royalties from resource extraction on public lands. Heinrich noted that during the pandemic, more Americans visited the outdoors than ever before.

Ken Lucero is tribal administrator for the Zia Pueblo in north-central New Mexico. He said both big game and small game have been essential to the tribe's survival, providing food, clothing and other needs.

"But, unfortunately, we have seen a significant decrease in both game species and biodiversity on our lands and the neighboring communities," said Lucero. "We understand that unless we address the dwindling populations, there will not be any wildlife for our future generations."

The legislation would give the state's Department of Game and Fish $28 million annually to help conserve 235 species in need. Jesse Duebel is the executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and said it also would benefit the state's outdoor recreation industry.

"The more wildlife, and the more species of wildlife that a visitor is likely to see," said Duebel, "the more likely that visitor is going to come to New Mexico and spend their money in our state."

National Wildlife Federation research shows more than 150 species already are extinct, and 500 more haven't been sighted in decades.