In a last ditch effort to save one of California’s most iconic insects, the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife is teaming up with River Partners on a $1 million restoration project.
The Western monarch butterfly has been in "catastrophic decline" over the past several years, according to Janet Klein with the Golden Gate Parks Conservancy
“It has gone from going in the many millions, down to fewer than 2,000 individuals observed in California this year,” Klein told KCBS Radio earlier this Spring.
She explained that the decline of the butterfly is likely due to habitat loss and the use of pesticides.
“It doesn’t kill them outright, it’s believed it’s decreasing their reproductive success and their survival and their ability to resist different diseases,” she explained.
The restoration plan aims to plant more than 30,000 native milkweeds, the only plant monarch caterpillars can eat. Naturalists hope the project will give the monarchs breeding ground and food for migration.
The milkweed plantings are happening mostly along the middle of the state, from Oroville all the way to San Diego.