Worrisome Monarch Count

I’m sorry to report sad news about our beautiful monarch friends . . .

After surveys by hundreds of volunteers and partners, results from the 29th annual Western Monarch Count led by the Xerces Society reveal another historically low population. Approximately 12,260 monarchs were recorded across 249 sites during the typical peak overwintering period from late November through early December 2025, when monarchs cluster together in groves of trees along California’s coast. This is the third-lowest tally since the count began in 1997, following low numbers last winter and a weak summer breeding season. The increasing frequency of record-low years heightens ongoing concerns about the health and stability of the western monarch migration and is a call to action.

Learn more about the monarch count in this video: https://westernmonarchcount.org/data/

What you can do to help monarchs:

• Avoid using pesticides, especially insecticides such as neonicotinoids.
  

• Create and maintain monarch habitat year-round. Find native flowers and milkweeds here.
  

• Participate in community science field counts. Watch our events calendar to sign up for summer counts.
  

• Advocate for pollinator protections and reducing neonics in Minnesota.

Watch the video by Xerces Society about the Western Count