Residents aim to rebuild Pacific Grove monarch sanctuary

Monarch butterflies are the spirit of Pacific Grove, but residents fear they will soon be nothing more than that. ” It is very apparent when they are gone. Last year they were gone by Christmas, ” said resident, Bob Pacelli.

For decades, hundreds of thousands of monarch butterflies have migrated through the coast of California during winter months. Many stop at Pacific Grove’s Monarch Sanctuary. Pacelli wants to protect the area. He said for years the city has cut away at trees the monarchs call home. ” The cuttings are so extensive, both inside and out. The microclimate is so fragile. I don’t know if we can save it, but we certainly need to try, ” said Pacelli.

Pacelli hopes to rebuild the sanctuary by bringing in boxed trees before the monarchs arrive in October. In 2018, the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History counted just 900 butterflies. In 2017, they counted over 7,000. ” This was seen across entire western monarch population, up and down the California coast. The overwintering sites experienced an 85% decline on average, ” said Nick Stong with the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History.

The Pacific Grove Public Works Department said no significant changes to the sanctuary have been made so far. ” We were a little disappointed that the counts were down last year, but our maintenance activities will remain consistent as they have in past years to try to enhance that habitat, ” said Pacific Grove Public Works director, said Daniel Gho .

Pacelli said the monarchs that are still left should be a priority in Pacific Grove this fall. ” There are problems. We can’t control those, but we have an obligation to what we have here, ” said Pacelli.