Mexican Mountains Protected for Monarchs
Mexico ’ s tapestry of ecosystems is one of the most diverse on Earth . Arid deserts , scrublands , high-altitude alpine areas and temperate , subtropical and tropical rainforests as well as coral reefs create a home for approximately 200,000 different species — equaling 10 to 12 % of global biodiversity . Since our first project here in 1996 , we have worked with our partners to establish 10 protected areas for many threatened species including the Bolson Tortoise , White-lipped Chirping Frog , Goode ’ s Thornscrub Tortoise , Lilac-crowned Amazon , Black-and-white Owl and Durango Mud Turtle .
A project launched in 2020 with local partner ProNatura Noreste expanded our footprint to the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range . Formed about 60 million years ago , the Sierra Madre Oriental stretches 700 miles , with more than 4,900 named peaks , including the highest — Cerro El Potosí — at 12,208 feet . Home to many endemic species , this dramatic mountain range has lost more than 88,000 acres of forest in the last decade alone . Of the land outside federal or state-protected areas in the region , more than 85 % of the forests have been cleared for agricultural and livestock use .
This landscape is also a part of the “ Monarch Corridor ,” the migratory route where the Monarch Butterfly converges to forage and rest for the winter . These extraordinary , beautiful insects travel nearly 3,000 miles each year from their summer breeding grounds in the United States and Canada to central Mexico and California . On July 21 , 2022 , the subspecies , Migratory Monarch Butterfly ( Danaus plexippus ssp . plexippus ) was uplisted to “ Endangered ” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature , a status change driven by continued habitat destruction and climate change .
A few weeks later , in August , the Tamaulipas state government declared 1,372,670 acres of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range as the “ Monarch Butterfly Migratory Corridor for the Sierra Madre Oriental .” Not only is the protected area a vital corridor for the Monarchs , it is also part of a larger strategy to ensure conservation and connectivity between four key protected areas . This includes the adjacent 1,853-acre Regalo de Dios Voluntary Conservation Area — protected by Rainforest Trust in August 2019 . Many species that would otherwise be isolated and fragmented , including the Red-crowned Amazon , Yellow-headed Amazon , Maroon-fronted Parrot , Military Macaw , Jaguar and Mexican Black Bear , also benefit from this refuge .
Expanding Our Reach 9