Locals add to monarch rebound

Sep. 16—Already encouraged by a possible resurgence in migratory monarchs in the Pacific Northwest over the past year, Medford residents Robert and Simone Coffan got an added boost last week when one of "their" own butterflies, tagged Aug. 26 at their home in south Medford, was found some 245 miles away last week.

The male monarch was recorded Sept. 9 after it landed on a pink zinnia near Hidden Valley Lake, California, just long enough for a woman there to admire its colorful wings and snap a photo, which she sent to the email address on the tiny circular tag that Coffan and Simone carefully affixed to one of the butterfly's back wings last month.

Chair and co-founder of Western Monarch Advocates and co-founder of Southern Oregon Monarch Advocates, Coffan began helping tag and release monarch butterflies in 2014. One of about 30 local residents who participate in the program, headed up by Washington State University, Coffan was excited to have released the first recorded monarch of the fall season.

"I don't know if exciting is even the right word. It was really ... almost humbling to have proof that we released the first one to make it down to California from the north," Coffan said.

"It almost feels like nature was kind of thanking us for our help in some way. We've had two other butterflies since 2014 that were found at the overwintering sites before. To have it happen this year — this phenomenal year — was really special."

While recent years have been concerning for the iconic orange and black insects, regional advocates say this year's numbers are the most hopeful in decades. By some accounts, the western population of migratory monarchs declined by an estimated 99.9%, from as many as 10 million to 1,914 butterflies, between the 1980s and 2021, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

In July, IUCN placed migratory monarchs on their "red list," deeming them endangered. Though it's a different distinction than being placed on the U.S. Endangered Species List, local advocates hoped the listing would underscore the need for increased preservation efforts.

A subspecies of monarch, the migratory monarch is known for its migrations from Mexico and California in the winter to summer breeding grounds throughout the United States and Canada. Populations have shrunk over the past decade by an overwhelming 22% to 72%.

A glimmer of hope came in August of this year, when David James, an entomologist at Washington State University, announced on his Monarch Butterflies in the Pacific Northwest webpage of an encouraging increase.

"I've been keeping close track of the numbers, and there are 12 times as many reports of monarchs in the PNW this July than there were in July 2021, when a total of 13 adults were reported from (Oregon, Washington and Idaho)," he wrote.

"All the signs are pointing to a very good number of fall migrants being produced in the PNW this year."

Coffan said he was hopeful that monarch populations were rebounding, and he was excited about Southern Oregon's role in the story. For their part, the Coffans have extensive patches of pollinator flowers and milkweed — the only food source for monarch caterpillars. They host a pavilion area on their property to protect the caterpillars and monarch from predators.

Simone Coffan said the monarch life cycle was miraculous to watch. With only one of 100 caterpillars turning into butterflies, and one in every four generations — dubbed "super generations" — migrating, Simone Coffan said it was exciting to see a monarch they tagged show up hundreds of miles away.

"Out of four generations, for only the fourth generation to know to migrate. It's as if your great-great-great-grandkid lived to be not 80, but 800," she said.

"And the stages they go through to become a butterfly, starting as this tiny egg and then this fat caterpillar. Then suddenly there is a chrysalis — the caterpillar is not there anymore. It turns into a soup. And out of that soup comes this beautiful butterfly. It's not even explainable."

Robert Coffan said he was hoping to get additional reports of monarchs released in Southern Oregon making their way to overwintering sites in California. In January, his Western Monarch Advocates group will take part in the International Western Monarch Summit event in Pismo Beach. He hopes by then to celebrate a continued uptick in the presence of monarchs in all Western states.

As for H0671, if all goes well, he should be fluttering around somewhere between Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz sometime this month, finding his way to one of at least three large overwintering sites. After nearly a decade of helping tag and release monarchs, Coffan still takes pause every time he sees one.

"Who would think that little thing would even know to go — but then make it several hundred miles away to overwinter," he said.

"I've been doing it for a lot of years, but it still amazes me every time."

He added, "They're really just amazing, and everyone should feel so lucky when they see one."

Monarch release event Saturday

This Saturday, members of the public are invited to join Coffan and other local advocates as they tag and release more monarch butterflies as part of a recovery celebration along the Bear Creek Greenway in Phoenix.

Those released will become part of the "super generation" that migrate south for winter. The event is twofold, Coffan said — celebrating recovery of the region after the devastating fires, and recovery of the monarchs this year.

The event will also highlight recovery of the Greenway, as it pertains to fish, vegetation and pollinators, with a look at cold-water springs — exposed by the Almeda Fire — that cool the water in Bear Creek for fish. A tour of a stormwater bioswale will be included.

The event will begin at 3 p.m. Participants are asked to meet near Phoenix Industrial Studios (near Clyde's Corner), at 4495 S. Pacific Highway. For more information, see facebook.com/somonarchs and facebook.com/MonarchButterfliesInThePacificNorthwest/

Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 541-776-8784 or bpollock@rosebudmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.