Latest stories! Monarch Migration Study and Monarch Celebration

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. Check out our latest stories! Citizen Scientists' Data Used to Study Size and Migration of Western Monarch Population A monarch perches on a wildflower during it spring migration.  Using the data collected at the Thanksgiving Count, scientists from the Service are researching ways to protect and enhance habitat for monarch butterflies in the western U.S.  Credit: Joanna Gilkeson/USFWS   By Byrhonda Lyons November 4, 2016 It happens every year in the weeks surrounding Thanksgiving. Hundreds of citizen scientists rise early and head to the California coast. With their binoculars and clipboards in tow, they examine trees, looking for large clusters of monarch butterflies for the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count. "This is the single effort we have to track the status of monarchs and understand the size of the western monarch population," said Xerces society biologist Sarina Jepsen. Jepsen directs endangered species and aquatic programs for the  Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation—which has managed the Thanksgiving Count since the late 1990s. Using the data collected at the Thanksgiving Count, scientists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are researching ways to protect and enhance habitat for monarch butterflies in the western U.S. CONTINUE TO FULL STORY..     Monarch Migration Connects Kids to Culture and Conservation During 'El Dia de los Muertos' Celebration in Southern California U.S. Fish hand Wildlife Service biologist Hazel Rodriguez and students from the Curren School examine one of their narrow-leaved milkweed plants in their Schoolyard Habitat. Credit: Ashley Spratt/USFWS   By Ashley Spratt November 4, 2016 El Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is celebrated each November across Mexico and the United States in remembrance of loved ones who have passed away and to celebrate the annual return of their spirits to Earth. During this same time of year, one of the world's most recognizable species - the monarch butterfly - takes a 3,000 mile journey from Canada and the United States to the central highlands of Mexico. Some monarch butterflies migrate west of the Rocky Mountains to coastal California to spend the winter. CONTINUE TO FULL STORY...     Stay Connected with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Region     SUBSCRIBER SERVICES:  Help U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Region · 2800 Cottage Way · Suite W-2606 · Sacramento, CA 95825