Mariposa Monarca Biosphere Reserve
Encyclopedia
The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve is a conservation area and World Heritage Site
within the wintering grounds of most of the monarch butterflies that migrate from east of the Rocky Mountains
for up to 4,000 km south to central Mexico. The reserve is located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests
ecoregion
on the border of Michoacán
and Mexico State, 100 km northwest of Mexico City
. It is estimated that between 60 million and 1 billion butterflies arrive in this area alone any given year. While over 56,000 hectares are part of the biosphere reserve, the butterflies themselves only inhabit a fraction of this when they are in Mexico from October to March. The biosphere’s mission is not only to protect the butterfly species, but also to protect the ecosystem of which it is a part.
This area, which hosts the majority of wintering monarchs from the east of the United States and Canada, has only been known to scientists since the 1970s. Protection of the area began with a series of presidential decrees in the 1980s, and a 2000 decree promoted the area to the status of federal biosphere reserve. In 2008, the Reserve was inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites. Although the montane site remains predominantly rural, a number of conservationists are concerned about the deleterious effects of illegal logging, growing tourism, and tensions between conservation authorities and communities inhabiting the land upon which the Reserve was established
for the winter and those east of the Rocky Mountains migrate south. However, no single individual makes the entire round trip, as butterfly lifespans vary from just two months to about seven months for those who hibernate It is not clear how these monarchs know how to return to the same wintering sites as their ancestors, but flight patterns seem to be inherited.
Wintering sites for these eastern butterflies are thought to be as far north as Texas
and Oklahoma
. However, most travel south into Mexico, crossing the border south from Texas and then following the Sierra Madre Oriental
mountains. After thirty years of studying the migrations of eastern monarchs, zoologist Freud Urquhart
discovered in 1975 the site where the butterflies migrate to. They spend the winter in the forests of pine and oyamel fir in central Mexico, along the border of the states of Michoacán and Mexico. For those who come from the U.S./Canadian border area, this represents a voyage of about 4,000 km. This southward migration concentrates a large number of insects from a widely dispersed area in the north to a small area in the south. This kind of migration is unique in the world. These butterflies spend about five months in this area of Mexico, arriving in October and leaving in March.
It is estimated that anywhere from 60 million to a billion butterflies arrive to the central Mexican highlands every winter, mostly clustering in the small area along the border of the states of Michoacán and Mexico. These butterflies congregate into colonies, clustering onto the pine and oyamel trees. In many cases, they are so thick that the trees turn orange in color and branches sag from the weight. When these butterflies take flight for mating purposes, they can fill the sky and appear like clouds and the beating of their collective wings has been compared to light rain. Although these forests are located in central Mexico, their altitude makes the area susceptible to low and freezing temperatures at night. If the weather gets too cold, the butterflies will die. Low temperatures at night each year kill a certain percentage every year, usually the weakest. However, unusually cold winters, such as the one that occurred in 1996/1997, can kill off so many that their bodies cover the ground. However, not all butterflies that fall to the ground overnight are dead. Some will reanimate when the sun rises in the morning. One reason the butterflies congregate so thickly on trees is to conserve heat. At dawn, the butterflies will open their wings to catch the sun’s warming rays. When the temperatures get warm enough in the daytime, the butterflies will rise up into the air en masse for mating.
. There was one major settlement near the Coatepec Mountain, which is now the archeological zone of San Felipe los Alzati. This settlement is considered to have been on the cultural frontier of the P'urhépecha
Empire. Since then, the area has been important for mining and farming, but it has remained mostly rural, with significant communities of Otomi and Mazahua
, especially on the Mexico State side.
In 1975, this area’s importance to the monarch butterflies of the eastern U.S. and Canada was discovered by zoologist Freut Urquhart. The area was decreed a protected zone in 1980 as a wildlife refuge by President José López Portillo
. In the latter part of the decade, management of the area passed into the hands of Secretariat of Urban Development and Ecology, which assigned it the category of “special biosphere reserve.” In 1986, a federal decree exactly defined the area and boundaries of the zones protected. In 2000, its name of Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca) was given by another federal decree. Initial conservation efforts in the 1980s focused only on the direct welfare of the monarch butterfly. Since then, research and other efforts have focused on preserving the ecosystems that the butterflies are part of.(mediaambiente) Other efforts have worked with local communities to help them participate in conservation efforts and find ways to make a living without harming the butterfly habitats. While the federal government proclaimed these areas as biosphere reserve, legal title has not changed. Most of it is divided among 38 ejido
s, seven indigenous communities and 16 private holdings. UNESCO declared the biosphere a World Heritage site in 2008 as a Natural Asset. This declaration was added to that which made San Miguel de Allende
a World Heritage Site.
The area is part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and much of its terrain is due to outcroppings of basalt
that formed fissures, faults and cliffs with a northeast-southwest orientation. These rock formations cover older ones such as volcanic cones and old lava beds. This area is highly permeable, so there is little surface water except for small ponds and arroyos
. These mountains are mostly covered in forests which vary by altitude and region: holm oak
up to 2900masl, holm oak and pine between 1500 and 3000 masl and oyamel fir between 2400 and 3600masl. There are also small areas with juniper
s, cedars and meadow
s. Areas below 2400 have mostly been drastically modified due to agriculture and human settlements. The most important areas to the monarch are the forests of pine and oyamel fir trees as these areas provide microclimates that provide shelter when overall temperatures fall to freezing or when there are winter rains.
The wildlife in the area ranges from the sub-tropical to the sub-arctic including a number of species that are endemic only to this area. These include white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), coyotes (Canis latrans), long-tailed weasels (Mustela frenata), grey foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), rabbits (Sylvilagus spp.), crows (Corvus corax), turkey buzzards (Cathartes aura), horned owls (Bubo virginianus)(A), as well as various types of hummingbird
s, reptiles and amphibians.
, Zitácuaro
and Contepec in Michoacán and Donato Guerra, Villa de Allende and Temascalcingo
in the State of Mexico. They are divided into five principal zones or nuclei.
Eight of the fourteen colonies are in the protected area. The colonies proper cover only 4.7 hectares, but the protected biosphere area covers 56,259 hectares. Four colonies are open to visitors: Sierra Chincua and El Rosario in Michoacan, and La Mesa and El Capulin in the State of Mexico. There are other colonies near San José Villa de Allende
and Ixtapan del Oro
, but they are not actively promoted for tourism because of the risk of harm to these butterfly colonies. El Rosario is the largest sanctuary in Michoacán, where the butterflies cover about 1,500 trees.
While the Biosphere still has problems with infrastructure
, most notably with trash (especially around parking and merchant areas), a number of improvements have been recently made, most notably in the sanctuary of El Rosario. These include well-defined footpaths with security patrols and stone/or concrete steps in steep places to help against erosion. Horsepaths were also eliminated for erosion reasons. Only two areas have significant installations. In the Sierra Chincua there is a research facility dedicated to the monarch butterfly and a nursery for reforestation efforts. At Cerro El Companario there are facilities for tourism.
In February, Anguangueo celebrates its Festival de la Mariposa Monarca (Monarch Butterfly Festival) . This festival began in 1992 to promote awareness of the butterfly habitat, take advantage of the ecotourism it offers and promote the culture and arts of the area. The festival includes events related to food, music, dance and exhibitions of arts, crafts and more. Many of the surrounding communities participate including Aporo, Contepec, Hidalgo, Irimbo, Jungapeo
, Maravatío
, Ocampo, Senguio
, Tuxpan
, Tlalpujahua
and Zitácuaro. In 2010, the festival included the participation of the Symphonic Orchestra of Michoacan, The Enrico Caruso Ensemble, and the showing of an exhibition called "Papaloapan" about the monarchs by visual artist Luis Moro, as well as dance and photography workshops. These events took place at venues in Anguangeo and other nearby communities.
, illegal logging, unorganized tourism, forest fires and lack of cooperation among various authorities. Most of these dangers come from the surrounding human settlements, which put pressure on the natural areas to provide agricultural space and forestry products such as fuel and wood for manufacturing furniture and other crafts. The main human communities in the area are Contepec, Temascalcingo, Angangueo, Ocampo, San Felipe del Progreso, Zitácuaro, Villa de Allende and Donato Guerra. The closest urban center is Zitácuaro, whose growth has promoted the growth of the other, more rural settlements.
In spite of this, most of the area is still occupied by dispersed rural farming communities of Otomi and Mazahua peoples, especially on the Mexico State side. Many of the protected hectares do not belong to the government directly, rather they are lands divided among 59 ejidos, thirteen indigenous communities and 21 individual holdings. Because of this and the fact that the reserve is divided by a state line, conservation efforts are complicated. Many communities in this region are very poor, with high illiteracy rates and childhood malnutrition
, with scarce access to basic services. In the past, mining provided much of the area’s jobs but mines have since been depleted and most live on subsistence agriculture. These communities also have a tradition of exploiting forest areas, mostly to obtain wood for furniture making and other crafts. High unemployment, especially for youth, also provoke migration out into other parts of Mexico and to the United States or Canada.
Most of the butterfly colony areas still host economic activities such as subsistence farming and livestock raising. In some areas, such as Sierra Chincua, Cerro Pelon and El Rosario, there are still problems with illegal logging to supply local fuel needs as well as for raw materials for handicrafts. El Rosario is named after the local ejido which belongs to about 10,000 “campesinos” or rural farmers. Many of these people make a living through farming and the sale of handcrafts and foods to tourists. Information about the butterflies is insufficient as it is not know the full extent of their wintering areas, nor the ecology of the area. Because of this, it is not known how large the reserve really needs to be for the preservation of the butterfly.
Conservation is mostly done through restrictions on the lands but the management of the reserve has not had direct participation by the communities affected by it. Some public and private entities have worked with communities to develop incentives to conserve forests and take advantage of the tourism that the butterflies bring. However, success in this has been spotty. Some communities are pushing back against the restrictions and demanding to be allowed to use more land for agriculture.
Since conservation efforts began, there has been progress. While infrastructure is still lacking, advances have been made in areas such as trash control and control of access into the protected areas. One effort by the World Wildlife Fund has been the coordination of international biologists and ecologists to improve the design of the reserve. A permanent monitoring system has been established to ensure the forests remain healthy and control clandestine logging and forest fires. On the Mexico State side, the largest sanctuary is located between San José Villa de Allende and Ixtapan del Oro. It is not actively promoted for tourism to keep damage to the area to a minimum.(StateMex) During winter 2008-2009, there are plans to tag as many of the wintering butterflies as possible using very light self-stick tracers as to not impede their flight. The purpose of this is to determine the butterflies exact migration route as they fly back north to the U.S. and Canada in the spring. Butterfly counts coming in from the United States and Canada in recent years were relatively stable in the 2000s, with a dozen confirmed colonies as of the 2007-2008 winter. Colonies number varies; in 2004/2005 there were only seven. In general, the number of colonies varies between eight and twelve.
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
within the wintering grounds of most of the monarch butterflies that migrate from east of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
for up to 4,000 km south to central Mexico. The reserve is located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests
Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests
The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests is a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt of central Mexico.-Setting:...
ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
on the border of Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
and Mexico State, 100 km northwest of Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. It is estimated that between 60 million and 1 billion butterflies arrive in this area alone any given year. While over 56,000 hectares are part of the biosphere reserve, the butterflies themselves only inhabit a fraction of this when they are in Mexico from October to March. The biosphere’s mission is not only to protect the butterfly species, but also to protect the ecosystem of which it is a part.
This area, which hosts the majority of wintering monarchs from the east of the United States and Canada, has only been known to scientists since the 1970s. Protection of the area began with a series of presidential decrees in the 1980s, and a 2000 decree promoted the area to the status of federal biosphere reserve. In 2008, the Reserve was inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites. Although the montane site remains predominantly rural, a number of conservationists are concerned about the deleterious effects of illegal logging, growing tourism, and tensions between conservation authorities and communities inhabiting the land upon which the Reserve was established
Monarch migration
The monarch butterfly is noted for their lengthy annual migration. It is the only butterfly species known to make annual north-south migrations like many bird species do. Monarchs in North America roughly divided into two migrations. Those in the west tend to migrate toward CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
for the winter and those east of the Rocky Mountains migrate south. However, no single individual makes the entire round trip, as butterfly lifespans vary from just two months to about seven months for those who hibernate It is not clear how these monarchs know how to return to the same wintering sites as their ancestors, but flight patterns seem to be inherited.
Wintering sites for these eastern butterflies are thought to be as far north as Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. However, most travel south into Mexico, crossing the border south from Texas and then following the Sierra Madre Oriental
Sierra Madre Oriental
The Sierra Madre Oriental is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico.-Setting:Spanning the Sierra Madre Oriental runs from Coahuila south through Nuevo León, southwest Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, and Hidalgo to northern Puebla, where it joins with the east-west running Eje Volcánico...
mountains. After thirty years of studying the migrations of eastern monarchs, zoologist Freud Urquhart
Freud Urquhart
Fred Albert Urquhart was a Canadian zoologist who crucially contributed to find where do the monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus L., spend their winter away from their summer residence areas in Canada and the USA.Urquhart's research on the route and destination of the insects started in 1937 and...
discovered in 1975 the site where the butterflies migrate to. They spend the winter in the forests of pine and oyamel fir in central Mexico, along the border of the states of Michoacán and Mexico. For those who come from the U.S./Canadian border area, this represents a voyage of about 4,000 km. This southward migration concentrates a large number of insects from a widely dispersed area in the north to a small area in the south. This kind of migration is unique in the world. These butterflies spend about five months in this area of Mexico, arriving in October and leaving in March.
It is estimated that anywhere from 60 million to a billion butterflies arrive to the central Mexican highlands every winter, mostly clustering in the small area along the border of the states of Michoacán and Mexico. These butterflies congregate into colonies, clustering onto the pine and oyamel trees. In many cases, they are so thick that the trees turn orange in color and branches sag from the weight. When these butterflies take flight for mating purposes, they can fill the sky and appear like clouds and the beating of their collective wings has been compared to light rain. Although these forests are located in central Mexico, their altitude makes the area susceptible to low and freezing temperatures at night. If the weather gets too cold, the butterflies will die. Low temperatures at night each year kill a certain percentage every year, usually the weakest. However, unusually cold winters, such as the one that occurred in 1996/1997, can kill off so many that their bodies cover the ground. However, not all butterflies that fall to the ground overnight are dead. Some will reanimate when the sun rises in the morning. One reason the butterflies congregate so thickly on trees is to conserve heat. At dawn, the butterflies will open their wings to catch the sun’s warming rays. When the temperatures get warm enough in the daytime, the butterflies will rise up into the air en masse for mating.
History of the area
In the pre-Hispanic period, this area was occupied by the OtomiOtomi people
The Otomi people . Smaller Otomi populations exist in the states of Puebla, Mexico, Tlaxcala, Michoacán and Guanajuato. The Otomi language belonging to the Oto-Pamean branch of the Oto-Manguean language family is spoken in many different varieties some of which are not mutually intelligible.One of...
. There was one major settlement near the Coatepec Mountain, which is now the archeological zone of San Felipe los Alzati. This settlement is considered to have been on the cultural frontier of the P'urhépecha
P'urhépecha
The P'urhépecha, normally spelled Purépecha in Spanish and in English and traditionally referred to as Tarascans, are an indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of the Mexican state of Michoacán, principally in the area of the cities of Uruapan and Pátzcuaro...
Empire. Since then, the area has been important for mining and farming, but it has remained mostly rural, with significant communities of Otomi and Mazahua
Mazahua
The Mazahua are an indigenous people of Mexico, inhabiting the northwestern portion of the State of Mexico and northeastern area of Michoacán, with a presence also in the Federal District owing to recent migration...
, especially on the Mexico State side.
In 1975, this area’s importance to the monarch butterflies of the eastern U.S. and Canada was discovered by zoologist Freut Urquhart. The area was decreed a protected zone in 1980 as a wildlife refuge by President José López Portillo
José López Portillo
José López Portillo y Pacheco was the President of Mexico from 1976 to 1982.Born in Mexico City, López Portillo studied Law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico before beginning his political career with the Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1959.He held several positions in the...
. In the latter part of the decade, management of the area passed into the hands of Secretariat of Urban Development and Ecology, which assigned it the category of “special biosphere reserve.” In 1986, a federal decree exactly defined the area and boundaries of the zones protected. In 2000, its name of Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca) was given by another federal decree. Initial conservation efforts in the 1980s focused only on the direct welfare of the monarch butterfly. Since then, research and other efforts have focused on preserving the ecosystems that the butterflies are part of.(mediaambiente) Other efforts have worked with local communities to help them participate in conservation efforts and find ways to make a living without harming the butterfly habitats. While the federal government proclaimed these areas as biosphere reserve, legal title has not changed. Most of it is divided among 38 ejido
Ejido
The ejido system is a process whereby the government promotes the use of communal land shared by the people of the community. This use of community land was a common practice during the time of Aztec rule in Mexico...
s, seven indigenous communities and 16 private holdings. UNESCO declared the biosphere a World Heritage site in 2008 as a Natural Asset. This declaration was added to that which made San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende is a city and municipality located in the far eastern part of the state of Guanajuato in central Mexico. It is 274 km from Mexico City and 97 km from the state capital of Guanajuato...
a World Heritage Site.
Ecosystem
The wintering areas of the butterfly are located on the mountainous forests that stretch across far eastern Michoacán state and far western Mexico State, about 100 km northwest of Mexico City. The area on the Michoacán side consists of the highest elevations of the state, including peaks that reach 2,700 masl. The climate of the region is classed as C(w2)(w)(b’(i"); or temperate and somewhat moist with a rainy season in the summer. Average maximum temperature is 22C with variance between 5 and 7 degrees. Altitude divides the region into three sub climates (cool and semi moist, semi cold and semi moist and cold and semi moist) .The area is part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and much of its terrain is due to outcroppings of basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
that formed fissures, faults and cliffs with a northeast-southwest orientation. These rock formations cover older ones such as volcanic cones and old lava beds. This area is highly permeable, so there is little surface water except for small ponds and arroyos
Arroyo (creek)
An arroyo , a Spanish word translated as brook, and also called a wash is usually a dry creek or stream bed—gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain. Wadi is a similar term in Africa. In Spain, a rambla has a similar meaning to arroyo.-Types and processes:Arroyos...
. These mountains are mostly covered in forests which vary by altitude and region: holm oak
Holm Oak
Quercus ilex, the Holm Oak or Holly Oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It takes its name from holm, an ancient name for holly...
up to 2900masl, holm oak and pine between 1500 and 3000 masl and oyamel fir between 2400 and 3600masl. There are also small areas with juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
s, cedars and meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
s. Areas below 2400 have mostly been drastically modified due to agriculture and human settlements. The most important areas to the monarch are the forests of pine and oyamel fir trees as these areas provide microclimates that provide shelter when overall temperatures fall to freezing or when there are winter rains.
The wildlife in the area ranges from the sub-tropical to the sub-arctic including a number of species that are endemic only to this area. These include white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), coyotes (Canis latrans), long-tailed weasels (Mustela frenata), grey foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), rabbits (Sylvilagus spp.), crows (Corvus corax), turkey buzzards (Cathartes aura), horned owls (Bubo virginianus)(A), as well as various types of hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
s, reptiles and amphibians.
Monarch colonies
There are fourteen major butterfly colonies located in these rugged forested mountains, which account for more than half of colonies of the monarch butterfly’s eastern U.S./Canada population. It is estimated that up to a billion individuals spend winter here in any given year. These colonies are dense, with between six and sixty million butterflies per hectare. The reserve areas are found in the municipalities of Ocampo, AngangueoAngangueo
Angangueo is a town and municipality located in far eastern Michoacán state in central Mexico noted for its history of mining and its location in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. It is located in high rugged forested mountains, with the town in a small canyon...
, Zitácuaro
Zitácuaro
Zitácuaro is a city in the Mexican state of Michoacán. The city is the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name, which lies at the extreme eastern side of Michoacán and borders on the adjacent state of México...
and Contepec in Michoacán and Donato Guerra, Villa de Allende and Temascalcingo
Temascalcingo
Temascalcingo de José Maria Velasco is a town and seat of the municipality of Temascalcingo in the State of Mexico, Mexico. It is located in the northeast of the state. The temazcal was very common in Temascalcingo. The name Temascalcingo has its roots in Nahuatl. It means place of the little...
in the State of Mexico. They are divided into five principal zones or nuclei.
Eight of the fourteen colonies are in the protected area. The colonies proper cover only 4.7 hectares, but the protected biosphere area covers 56,259 hectares. Four colonies are open to visitors: Sierra Chincua and El Rosario in Michoacan, and La Mesa and El Capulin in the State of Mexico. There are other colonies near San José Villa de Allende
San José Villa de Allende
San Jose Villa de Allende is a town and seat of the municipality of Villa de Allende located 70 kilometers to the west of the city of Toluca...
and Ixtapan del Oro
Ixtapan del Oro
Ixtapan del Oro is a town and municipality in the State of Mexico, in Mexico. The name “Ixtapan” comes from Nahuatl and means 'in the place of little salt'. "del Oro" is Spanish, meaning 'of the gold'. This name was added in 1894 when some veins of gold were found here.-The town:It is a small town...
, but they are not actively promoted for tourism because of the risk of harm to these butterfly colonies. El Rosario is the largest sanctuary in Michoacán, where the butterflies cover about 1,500 trees.
While the Biosphere still has problems with infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
, most notably with trash (especially around parking and merchant areas), a number of improvements have been recently made, most notably in the sanctuary of El Rosario. These include well-defined footpaths with security patrols and stone/or concrete steps in steep places to help against erosion. Horsepaths were also eliminated for erosion reasons. Only two areas have significant installations. In the Sierra Chincua there is a research facility dedicated to the monarch butterfly and a nursery for reforestation efforts. At Cerro El Companario there are facilities for tourism.
Tourism
Five of the eight colonies are located in Michoacán but only two are open to the public: Sierra Chincua in Angangueo and El Rosario in Ocampo. Both receive visitors starting from November until March. They offer guided tours. In the State of Mexico, La Mesa and El Capulin are open to the public. These reserves are visited by thousands of Mexican and international tourists, principally from the United States, Canada, Spain, France, Germany and Japan. The best known and most visited of the butterfly colonies is El Rosario.In February, Anguangueo celebrates its Festival de la Mariposa Monarca (Monarch Butterfly Festival) . This festival began in 1992 to promote awareness of the butterfly habitat, take advantage of the ecotourism it offers and promote the culture and arts of the area. The festival includes events related to food, music, dance and exhibitions of arts, crafts and more. Many of the surrounding communities participate including Aporo, Contepec, Hidalgo, Irimbo, Jungapeo
Jungapeo
Jungapeo is a municipality in the eastern part of the Mexican state of Michoacán. The municipality has an area of 265.98 square kilometres and is bordered to the north by the municipality of Tuxpan, to the east by Juárez and Zitácuaro, to the south by Tuzantla, and to the west by Hildago...
, Maravatío
Maravatío
Maravatío is a municipality in the Mexican state of Michoacán, representing 1.17% of its land area, or 691.55 km2.- Etymology :The modern word Maravatío comes from the P'urhépecha word Marhabatio, meaning a precious place or thing....
, Ocampo, Senguio
Carinda Paz
Carinda Paz is a small town in the northeast region of the Mexican state of Michoacán. It is a small town of 374 inhabitants. The main community is Senguio....
, Tuxpan
Tuxpan, Michoacán
Tuxpan Michoacán es un pequeño pueblo en medio de Zitácuaro y Ciudad Hidalgo en el estado mexicano de Michoacán. Tuxpan se encuentra 118 kilometros de Morelia....
, Tlalpujahua
Tlalpujahua
Tlalpujahua is a town and municipality located in the far northeast of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. It is a former mining town, home of the Dos Estrellas Mine, which was the leading producer of gold in the early 20th century...
and Zitácuaro. In 2010, the festival included the participation of the Symphonic Orchestra of Michoacan, The Enrico Caruso Ensemble, and the showing of an exhibition called "Papaloapan" about the monarchs by visual artist Luis Moro, as well as dance and photography workshops. These events took place at venues in Anguangeo and other nearby communities.
Conservation
The survival of the species depends on a large number of habitats from Canada, the United States and Mexico during its annual migration cycle. The three countries adopted a plan in 2008 for the conservation of the butterfly’s habitat through its migration routes. Within the Biosphere in Mexico, the greatest threats to the butterfly habitat are deforestationDeforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
, illegal logging, unorganized tourism, forest fires and lack of cooperation among various authorities. Most of these dangers come from the surrounding human settlements, which put pressure on the natural areas to provide agricultural space and forestry products such as fuel and wood for manufacturing furniture and other crafts. The main human communities in the area are Contepec, Temascalcingo, Angangueo, Ocampo, San Felipe del Progreso, Zitácuaro, Villa de Allende and Donato Guerra. The closest urban center is Zitácuaro, whose growth has promoted the growth of the other, more rural settlements.
In spite of this, most of the area is still occupied by dispersed rural farming communities of Otomi and Mazahua peoples, especially on the Mexico State side. Many of the protected hectares do not belong to the government directly, rather they are lands divided among 59 ejidos, thirteen indigenous communities and 21 individual holdings. Because of this and the fact that the reserve is divided by a state line, conservation efforts are complicated. Many communities in this region are very poor, with high illiteracy rates and childhood malnutrition
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess , or in the wrong proportions....
, with scarce access to basic services. In the past, mining provided much of the area’s jobs but mines have since been depleted and most live on subsistence agriculture. These communities also have a tradition of exploiting forest areas, mostly to obtain wood for furniture making and other crafts. High unemployment, especially for youth, also provoke migration out into other parts of Mexico and to the United States or Canada.
Most of the butterfly colony areas still host economic activities such as subsistence farming and livestock raising. In some areas, such as Sierra Chincua, Cerro Pelon and El Rosario, there are still problems with illegal logging to supply local fuel needs as well as for raw materials for handicrafts. El Rosario is named after the local ejido which belongs to about 10,000 “campesinos” or rural farmers. Many of these people make a living through farming and the sale of handcrafts and foods to tourists. Information about the butterflies is insufficient as it is not know the full extent of their wintering areas, nor the ecology of the area. Because of this, it is not known how large the reserve really needs to be for the preservation of the butterfly.
Conservation is mostly done through restrictions on the lands but the management of the reserve has not had direct participation by the communities affected by it. Some public and private entities have worked with communities to develop incentives to conserve forests and take advantage of the tourism that the butterflies bring. However, success in this has been spotty. Some communities are pushing back against the restrictions and demanding to be allowed to use more land for agriculture.
Since conservation efforts began, there has been progress. While infrastructure is still lacking, advances have been made in areas such as trash control and control of access into the protected areas. One effort by the World Wildlife Fund has been the coordination of international biologists and ecologists to improve the design of the reserve. A permanent monitoring system has been established to ensure the forests remain healthy and control clandestine logging and forest fires. On the Mexico State side, the largest sanctuary is located between San José Villa de Allende and Ixtapan del Oro. It is not actively promoted for tourism to keep damage to the area to a minimum.(StateMex) During winter 2008-2009, there are plans to tag as many of the wintering butterflies as possible using very light self-stick tracers as to not impede their flight. The purpose of this is to determine the butterflies exact migration route as they fly back north to the U.S. and Canada in the spring. Butterfly counts coming in from the United States and Canada in recent years were relatively stable in the 2000s, with a dozen confirmed colonies as of the 2007-2008 winter. Colonies number varies; in 2004/2005 there were only seven. In general, the number of colonies varies between eight and twelve.