Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count
The Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count is a yearly effort of volunteer citizen monitors to collect data on the status of monarch populations overwintering along the California coast. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of a cadre of volunteers, we have over a decade of data demonstrating that monarchs have undergone a dramatic decline in the western U.S. This effort is coordinated by Dennis Frey, Shawna Stevens and Mia Monroe.
Would you like to participate in the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count? We are looking for volunteers in California who can commit to visiting the same overwintering sites year after year. If this interests you, please contact Candace Fallon for more information.
We encourage Thanksgiving Count monitors to also fill out a habitat assessment form so that we can understand more about what monarchs need and begin to track changes that occur at overwintering sites.
Overwintering habitat assessment protocol and form
Please remember that we are most interested in counts of monarch groves conducted during the week around Thanksgiving and the week around New Years day. You can download survey instructions and forms below.