January 1, 2001
A message from Dr. Orley R. "Chip" Taylor, Director of Monarch Watch
Monarch butterflies capture the imagination of people of all ages with their spectacular migration and striking beauty. Each fall, millions of Monarchs migrate from Canada and the United States to their remote overwintering grounds in the transvolcanic mountains west of Mexico City. Deforestation in Mexico, habitat loss in the United States, changes in agricultural practices, and global warming threaten this phenomenon. Monarch population size estimates help conservation groups understand the impact of these threats. Monarch Watch provides these critical population size estimates through its tagging program a long-term mark and recapture effort.
Monarch Watch is an educational outreach effort based at the University of Kansas that engages citizen scientists in large-scale research projects. It is one of the most successful and well-known outreach programs in the country and is producing real data, which is published in a "Season Summary", that relate to a serious conservation issue. Personally and professionally the success of this program has been very gratifying for me as its Director. However, my concern is the funding required to keep this rapidly expanding program operating.
Monarch Watch is currently funded through small contributions and the sale of tagging materials and promotional/educational items such as t-shirts, tote bags, pins, books, posters, and videos. Unfortunately, these sources of income are not sufficient to meet the demands of this rapidly growing program and we need assistance from external sources to continue to provide resources to the community we serve.
Your support of Monarch Watch would allow us to maintain the tagging program which:
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provides the basis for assessing the impact of human activities on the Monarch population; |
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allows us to monitor the patterns of the migration and characterize the year to year changes in the population; |
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generates data that can be used as the basis for conservation efforts; |
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engages an increasing number of citizen scientists in an endeavor to monitor and conserve the Monarch population; and |
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connects an increasing number of people with one of the world's magnificent migrations and significant conservation issues. |
In addition to supporting the tagging program, funding would allow Monarch Watch to continue to provide new educational resources for schools and citizens interested in Monarch biology.
Since its inception in 1991, Monarch Watch has evolved into an electronically based program with an award-winning website (www.MonarchWatch.org) that receives more than 135,000 unique visitors per year and a growing e-mail discussion list with 450 subscribers. More than 1,800 members including individuals, schools, and nature centers are involved in the tagging program. The program involves approximately 2,000 schools in the U.S. and Canada, and nearly 100,000 students and volunteers participate in tagging activities each fall.
Our long-term goal is to raise one million dollars for Monarch conservation and education. However, in the short-term, we are seeking contributions totaling $50,000 this year to support the tagging program. Any contribution toward this effort would be greatly appreciated. Monarch Watch is a non-profit program, therefore, your contribution is tax deductible. Please browse through our website to learn about other aspects of our program, such as our effort to provide materials for the schools in the Monarch Reserve in Mexico.
Monarch Watch deeply appreciates your consideration of this request for support. If you have questions about our program, please send an email to monarch@ku.edu or call 1-888-TAGGING or 785-864-4051. Again, thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Orley R. Taylor
Director, Monarch Watch
