Monarch butterflies and their amazing annual migration are seriously threatened by human activities, in both their summer and overwintering sites. Many of these threatening activities involve Monarch butterfly habitat destruction. New roads, housing developments, and agricultural expansion all transform a natural landscape so that Monarch butterflies can not live there. Also, some people consider milkweed plants, which are the plant their larvae feed on exclusively, a noxious weed so it is often destroyed.

With this information in mind, conservationists have created many projects to protect Monarch butterfly overwintering sites, most often through conservation easements of land. This means landowners set aside a portion of their land permanently as protected Monarch butterfly habitat. Some groups work with governmental agencies and local people to establish land protection and initiate education about Monarch conservation. You can visit the Michoacan Reforestation and Habitat Protection Fund, which is a project working with the sensitive balance between the needs of the Monarch butterflies and the needs of the people who share the overwintering area with them. Also, the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation whose mission is to provide financial and scientific support for preserving the overwintering ground of eastern Monarch butterflies.

from www.monarch-butterfly.com