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    Back to The 805

    The 805

    Goleta rehabilitates historic Eucalyptus grove to bring back monarch butterflies

    California monarchs are in dramatic decline. A count conducted this year at the Ellwood Mesa preserve in Goleta revealed an 85% decrease from the year before, while it shows a 99.4% decrease in the butterflies from numbers counted in the 1980s.

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    By Jonathan Bastian • Apr 12, 2019 • 1 min read

    California monarchs are in dramatic decline. A count conducted this year at the Ellwood Mesa preserve in Goleta revealed an 85% decrease from the year before, while it shows a 99.4% decrease in the butterflies from numbers counted in the 1980s. Last summer, Former Gov. Jerry Brown allotted $3.9 million from state funds for the restoration of the historic Ellwood Mesa Monarch preserve in Goleta. The restoration is an attempt to bring back the monarchs to their overwintering grounds in the Eucalyptus grove that was originally part of Ellwood Cooper large farm planted in the 1870s, which has provided the pollinators vital protection from storm winds and excessive heat.

    The full episode

    1 of 3
    The monarch population declines at Ellwood Mesa
    1. 0:00Goleta rehabilitates historic Eucalyptus grove to bring back monarch butterfliesYou’re reading this
    2. 10:45Santa Barbara crowns a new poet laureate
    3. 21:08Charting the rise and fall of ‘Lawnmower Parents’
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Jonathan Bastian

      Host, Life Examined

    • KCRW placeholder

      Carolina Starin

      Producer

    • KCRW placeholder

      Charis van der Heide

      Associate Biologist for Rincon Consultants and volunteer with the Xerces Society's Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count

    • KCRW placeholder

      Anne Wells

      Planning Manager and the Advance Planning Division at the City of Goleta

      NewsEnvironmentCentral Coast

    The full episode

    1 of 3
    The monarch population declines at Ellwood Mesa
    1. 0:00Goleta rehabilitates historic Eucalyptus grove to bring back monarch butterfliesYou’re reading this
    2. 10:45Santa Barbara crowns a new poet laureate
    3. 21:08Charting the rise and fall of ‘Lawnmower Parents’
    Back to The 805