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The Monarchs of Michoacan
Eco-tourism’s little-known Mexican destination

By Sue Stilwell, Owner of S & S Tours

I love to escort small groups and customize independent learning adventures to cultural/historic destinations in Mexico. I have a passion for the Mexican people, culture and language. One of the most fascinating tours I offer is the yearly search for and encounter with the magical Monarch butterflies in Michoacan.

Mexico is filled with mysteries and surprises for the traveler interested in adventure and eco-tourism. Did you know that it is one of the five most bio-diverse countries in the world? According to the Lloyd Mexican Economic Report published in Guadalajara, Mexico boasts the most species of reptiles and amphibians of any nation, with 964 species of reptiles alone. The country boasts 30,000 species of plants (with 135 different kinds of oaks and 49 different species of pines!) that provide homes and food for more than 1,000 bird species and 449 species of mammals.

Monarch Butterfly winter sanctuaries in the central Mexican State of Michoacan are one of my favorite eco-tourism destinations. The Monarch’s annual 2,500-mile migration from the northern U.S. and Canada deep into Mexico ranks among North America’s great wonders.

For eight years our tour group has made its pilgrimage to the two Mexican sanctuaries open to visitors. I consider it a great privilege to stand in the midst of millions of the multi-colored winged creatures in their winter hideaways. Our small group becomes absolutely quiet and reverent as we are immersed in the middle of whirring wings of the flying and fragile bodies of orange and black and white. It’s as if they have settled down to personally greet me, resting lightly on my head, my arms, my back, my knees. I have difficulty imagining how 250 million Monarchs actually survive the late fall migration from the north to the oyamel (fir) forests for the sole purposes of hibernation and reproduction.

A mystery solved

In 1975, years of patient searching for the Monarchs’ winter sanctuaries came to an end when Canadian zoologist Fred Urquhart finally located their winter refuge. To the surprise of many, it was in a cold climate, among evergreen forests, with an average altitude of 10,400 feet, in Mexico’s majestic western Sierra Madre mountain range.

The oyamel trees protect the Monarchs from sun and wind, and also shelter these fragile creatures against cold and snow in a secluded area of 400 square kilometers (150 square miles). The climate is close to freezing, which puts them in a state of semi-dormancy. Fortunately, the forest has plenty of protective underbrush in case they get caught on the ground. These beautiful pollinators can have full abdomens and still die from dehydration, so the dense forest’s streams, clouds and fog provide the moisture necessary for hydration. They even can get moisture from each other.

The butterflies born in the late summer live up to nine months and so are able to make the long migration. They are the descendents of the ones that left the Mexico refuges the previous spring.  The butterflies feed on nectar during the flight south and even gain weight. They conserve their “fuel” by gliding and soaring on air currents. If they were to continually beat their wings, their fuel would be used up in 10 hours.

On sunny, warmer days the butterflies fly to nearby water sources. They must return, though, before it is too cold. They have an inferior capacity to regulate their body temperatures, so once they reach their destination in the Michoacan forests, they cluster on the oyamel tree trunks and branches waiting for the days to lengthen, the temperatures to rise and their biological clocks to begin ticking.

The insects reach their sexual maturity only in warm spring climates. In order to reach this stage of growth, the butterflies hibernate in a place where the temperatures allow them to remain inactive. They survive the winters by metabolizing the fats stored in their abdomens and converting them to energy, carbon dioxide and water.

As late February arrives, these winged wonders busily begin their reproductive cycle. About 47% of their fat body remains to sustain the reproductive cycle and migrate north. As the days grow longer, clouds of living tri-colored winged marvels move to locations lower on the mountainsides. Mating dances can last 16 hours. As they mate, the males use up the final reserves left to them after their long journey of late fall and inactivity of the winter months, and die soon after.

The long, long trek north

Around mid-March the females will then fly north and east along the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, looking for milkweed on which to feed and lay eggs. About 10 days after laying, fully grown caterpillars emerge, attach themselves to branches and begin to weave silk cocoons. Within this seemingly imprisoned state they will complete their chrysalis and become beautiful butterflies, thus beginning a whole new life cycle. This second generation continues north to the Great Lakes, where they re-colonize their parents’ original home. The third and fourth generation lay eggs even further north. The fifth generation born in late summer will migrate to Mexico.

As we consider the goals of eco-tourism, responsible tourists have the same question in their minds: “What is the future of the Monarchs in the sanctuaries?” They ask because of concerns over the Illegal logging that’s still taking place there. In response to this concern, Mexican President Vicente Fox funded the Monarch Trust in 2001 to protect the habitat of the butterflies. It will fund eco-tourism projects, construction of roads and hydraulic infrastructure, reforestation, restoration of eroded soils, and sustainable agricultural and forest activities.

The trust compensates 37 communities in the central zone of the 12 sanctuaries (an area covering some 10,000 sq. km/4,000 sq. mi.). In effect, the villagers are being paid not to continue logging. Provisions are being considered to have the villages act as protectors of the Monarchs instead of destroyers of their habitats.

Several Mexican government offices are involved in the conservation of the Monarch forests. They will fortify vigilance over the region’s natural resources, especially in the protected areas, and coordinate forest restoration projects over a five-year period that will end in 2006. (In some areas, more than half of the surface and soils have deteriorated.) The replacement of slash-and-burn agricultural practices with permanent farming plots and an overall alignment of local practices with the current conservation regulations are also part of the plan.

Seeking solutions to questions of land ownership, as well as a plan to resolve agrarian conflicts that tend to prevent good conservation practices, is vital. The government is attempting to find ways to avoid any drastic changes to biodiversity and will continue to promote eco-tourism in the protected natural areas. Its goal is to provide alternative options of development to the communities and improve the level of life through income received from tourism.

According to The Monarch Watch Report of February 16, 2004 from the University of Kansas, in spite of all the efforts at the national level, Mexican authorities recognize the magnitude of illegal logging in the protected areas. Money is being channeled into the region accordingly. The Mexican Park Service has more than doubled the budget of the protected area since 2000.

What citizens are doing

Aside from the police and judicial work in the hands of the authorities, independent and non-governmental organizations have an important role to play in stopping illegal logging. Local agrarian communities that own this forest can be empowered to protect what forest they have left. These watch groups can be better equipped and paid for their time spent protecting the forest. The presence of people in the forest, such as field researchers or monitors, has already been shown to deter the loggers. 

Conservation organizations and researchers document the status of the logging using aerial photography and high-resolution satellite images to identify specific areas where action needs to be taken. Fortunately, all pertinent groups and authorities have been cooperating with one another, sharing their documentation, analyses and recommendations. Also, illegal activities are being made public and denounced in the press. This is helping bring pressure for a deeper political commitment at a higher level of government.

While these good development are taking place, the Michoacan Monarch sanctuaries beckon. If you are an accomplished walker with lots of stamina – after all, you’ll be walking at 10,000 feet! – I can’t think of a better place to take a hike.