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Monarch Butterfly Overwintering Area in Mexico Up 64% in 2025–26

Officials credit improved U.S. climate conditions for the upswing.

Overview

  • Nine colonies were documented, with the largest at El Rosario, Michoacán, covering 1.62 hectares.
  • Five colonies (2.27 ha) occurred inside the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve and four (0.66 ha) outside the protected area.
  • Mexico introduced a 2025–2030 action plan that adds new lines on tourism management, eliminating glyphosate and climate measures.
  • Environmental enforcers reported stepped-up operations in the reserve, including closures of illegal sawmills and properties with unauthorized land-use change.
  • Forest damage in the core wintering zone totaled 2.55 hectares between February 2024 and February 2025, driven by illegal logging, fires and drought, with authorities noting a reduction versus the prior year.