Saline Valley Monarch Count 

Survey Opportunities 

We are seeking volunteers to survey Saline Valley every week beginning in mid-October! The survey data collected by our volunteers is part of a larger effort to count monarchs in the West and is part of the Western Monarch  Count. 

If you are interested in signing up, please visit the link below to learn more about survey protocols and sign up!

Western Monarch Count Registration

Training videos

Step by step monitoring guide

Datasheets and protocols

Xerces Society Training and Events

 
Note: all new volunteers must survey with an experienced volunteer. 

The overwintering period of the fall and into winter is one of the most critical times for us to survey. During the overwintering period, monarchs congregate in clusters along coastal California and in a few inland spots like Saline Valley. This is the best time to count monarchs and survey the population since the butterflies generally stay in one place and are not active in the early morning hours. The data is used to estimate the western monarch population. Please let us know if you may be able to survey during this period. If you can't make it, please help us to spread to word to others that may be interested! 

Why count monarchs?

In the winter of 2021-2022, nearly 250,000 monarchs were counted during the Western Monarch Counts. This was a 100-fold increase in monarchs from the previous survey year when only 2,000 monarchs were reported. Despite the modest rebound, monarch butterflies in the west have declined by approximately 99.9% since the 1980's when 4.5 million monarchs were counted. Monitoring overwintering monarch populations is one way scientists gain insight into the status of the monarch and how much the population varies from year to year.