More than 300,000 monarch butterflies have been reported across California's 183 overwintering sites in the @xercessociety Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count! Surpassing 300,000 monarch butterflies is something that hasn't occurred since the fall of 2000. The Thanksgiving Count ran from 11/12 to 12/4 and we will hear the official, final total in late January. Pismo State Beach had one of the 4 largest counts at 25,000+! "It's imperative that this positive news is also met with the understanding that the population has declined significantly since the 1980s, when western monarchs numbered in the low millions. There continues to be very little meaningful protection for the species or its habitat; overwintering sites in particular continue to be destroyed and damaged each year. Continued advocacy, action and support are needed now and well into the future." - Isis Howard, Xerces Society Learn more about monarch conservation from our partners at @westernmonarchtrail, @xercessociety, and @monarchjointventure! Photo credit: Steven Myli