2025.12.03 | Help Monitor Monarchs in the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve Forest

Friends of Fiscalini Ranch Preserve needs your help tracking monarch butterflies in the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve forest.  Each winter, volunteers led by Holly Slettland, in partnership with the Xerces Society, monitor the monarchs that shelter on the Ranch.  Cambria is one of the few remaining sites where monarchs can still roost in native trees, so it is rare habitat for them.

     In recent years, the number of monarchs seen at the known roosting sites has dropped sharply. Because monarchs are still frequently spotted around town throughout the winter, we believe they may be shifting their overnight roosts to new, undocumented locations within the forest.  If you see monarch butterflies along the forest trails, please help by reporting your sightings.  Email Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve at: ranch (at) fiscaliniranch.org with:

• The number of butterflies observed
• The time of day
• The location on the forest trail (as precisely as possible)

Your reports will directly support efforts to understand changing roosting patterns and protect the long-term survival of this iconic species.  Thank you for helping us care for the monarchs.