California

California's American Western Monarch Butterflies major regular over-wintering habitats are found on the Central Coast of California often

referred to as the "California's Butterfly Coast ". Their annual migration was declared an endangered phenomenon in 1983.

THEY ARE A NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL TREASURE .........................as important as our Redwood Forests.

Thank you to all senior citizens, teachers, gardeners, gardening associations & clubs, students and organizations world-wide who are now planting milkweed plants in public and private butterfly & pollination gardens, studying the life cycle and science of the spectacular monarch butterflies and celebrating their annual return migrations !

A thank you to each of you who are helping to bring national and international public awareness to the endangered major regular over-wintering habitats of the American Western Monarch butterfly on California's coast; the only over-wintering habitats of the American Western Monarch butterfly in the US and in the world. President, Sheila Boone of the Butterfly Palace, Inc. non-profit with the help of Senator Bruce McPherson authored the BILL FOR CALIFORNIA WESTERN MONARCH DAY FEB 5 to honor California school students who celebrate the annual return of the western monarch butterflies by planting milkweed plants, seeds and butterfly & pollination gardens. Through your gift donations of the Free As A Butterfly Program we can continue to give many more school children the opportunity to learn and know about the existence and importance of the American Western Monarch butterflies; their endangered migratory habitats and to hopefully, visit a California coastal habitat to see the magnificent giant "clusters " of orange and black winged western monarch butterflies which completely cover the limbs of the pine and eucalyptus trees; experiencing one of the true wonders of the world on California's Butterfly Coast. On our home page http://www.butterflypalace.org you may now view the Pismo Beach monarch butterfly habitat in our new film " Free As A Butterfly "currently being televised. The Central Coast of California is the winter home of the American Western Monarch butterfly; from October through March. The butterflies begin their long journey to summer in Canada leaving in March and arriving five generations later; a lone butterfly makes the arduous trip back to the California coastal habitats. T

Our 2002 " Free as a Butterfly " American Western Monarch Butterfly Awareness Award was presented to Rudy Natoli, Mayor of Pismo Beach at the " Butterflies by the Beach " celebration in Pismo Beach, Ca, marking a historic event in California by celebrating and giving attention to one of the largest of the MAJOR ( defined as a habitat with more than 50,000 butterflies ) regular over-wintering habitats in the world located in the Pismo Beach State Park, Pismo Beach, CA.

Being in the heart of California's coastal monarch habitat struggles for years has resulted in thousands of phone calls, correspondence etc. which is expensive and time consuming. For example, we sent film, brochures, phone calls and letters for several years to a lady and her foundation who gave a one million dollar donation which kicked off the purchase from a developer to preserve a 137 acre MAJOR Western Monarch butterfly habitat in Ellwood for 20 million dollars; subsequently, the city of Goleta, Ca ( location of Ellwood habitat ) adopted the Monarch Butterfly as its logo. Again, private, non-profit and State purchases try to save what very little remains of the estimated 8-12 major habitats. We should not forget to mention the cooperation of developers who are now aware of the value of preserving the American Western monarch butterfly habitats as an asset to the tourism business. They have designated parks and saved habitats within a housing developments etc.

Loss of habitat simply means loss of the American Western Monarch butterfly migration. See our home page for a 75% decline in Monarch butterfly numbers to an approx one million remaining butterflies was reported and published in every major newspaper around the world. The American Western Monarch butterfly is a very long way from being as well known as our Redwood Forests. We will continue to lose MAJOR habitats and experience declines until the public knows of the existence of the American Western Monarch butterfly and its major habitats.

The question is, will we continue to neglect the enormous environmental importance of the migratory American Western Monarch butterflies, ignore the need for preservation, restoration and management of their habitats; and the public need to know about these vibrant living gifts of nature; the opportunity to come to visit California's butterfly coast, experience the power of their beauty and begin to understand the need to care for our natural living world of which we are also a part of. The American Western Monarch major habitats are an exhilarating national treasure; and a part of California's dynamic environmental coast.