Ms. Sheila Boone, President
Butterfly Palace
San Luis Obispo, CA
Dear Sheila,
You have my hearty endorsement in promoting the conservation of the monarch butterfly overwintering sites in California which are so besieged by real estate development up and down the coast.
This is an imperative for two reasons: first there is a very high probability that we will lose the overwintering sites in Mexico due to uncontrollable deforestation which will spell the demise of the migration east of the Rocky Mountains, thus leaving California as sole guardian the North American migration. Secondly, how can we as First World Americans urge the Mexican Government and people to protect their overwintering colonies if we do not protect ours?
As I have pointed out elsewhere, the migration and overwintering behavior of the monarch butterfly is an endangered biological phenomenon. It will take a concerted effort to protect this fragile and beautiful manifestation of the natural world.
Sincerely,
Lincoln Pierson Brower, Ph.D.
Research Professor of Biology at Sweet Briar College
Distinguished Service Professor of Zoology, Emeritus at the
University of Florida
Pictured are Sheila Boone and Lincoln
Brower
Copyright © S. Boone Productions, Siamak
Sehat, Photographer
Recipient of the Gold Medal of Zoology from the Linnean Society of London and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Animal Behavior Society, Professor Brower has published over 200 scientific papers and edited two books. He has served as Presidents of the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Lepidopterists' Society, and the International Society of Chemical Ecology. He is currently collaborating with the Wildlife Conservation Society of New York and the World Wildlife Fund-Mexico and the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation to develop a comprehensive model to protect all known overwintering sites of the monarch butterfly in Mexico.