The Ellwood Mesa Butterfly Grove used to be California's largest wintering site for monarch butterflies. But in 2024, only 30 of the butterflies were counted at the grove, according to Goleta Parks and Open Spaces Manager George Thompson.
"This is the second worst year on record and it’s not just in Goleta, it’s across the U.S.," Thompson said.
In 2021, Thompson says just four butterflies visited the grove. He explains that over the last 20 years, eucalyptus trees at Ellwood Grove have died, causing the grove’s protective structure to collapse.
"You compare that, you know, the highest numbers that we were counting were in the 80,000-plus. And then across the state, we're in the millions. This is really an alarm bell for a lot of folks that are concerned about monarch butterflies," Thompson said.
Longer droughts, stronger storms, development, and increased pesticide use impact the butterfly's numbers, according to Thompson. So much so, that the federal government is considering placing monarchs on the threatened species list.
"it is incredibly concerning, depressing, that we're at this state where an iconic species like the monarch is potentially going to go extinct," Thompson said.
The missing monarchs also have local photographer Susie Clothier concerned.
"To sit here with people from all over the country with their kids and, and environmentalists just looking at these trees just covered with the monarchs and then to come out here this year and there isn't any is just, it's staggering," Clothier said.
Thompson says the City of Goleta is prioritizing monarch conservation with the start of the largest habitat restoration project in the state specific to the species.
"That includes planting over 400 new trees, 10,000 native plants. We have a whole educational program being developed," Thompson explained.
On a personal level, Thompson says reducing pesticide use in your home and planting native flowers can also help.
"We have to have hope. It is a sad year with nothing here, but I hope they’ll be back," Clothier concluded.
WATCH: How conservationists are rebuilding monarch butterfly habitat on the Central Coast
The Pismo Beach State Park Monarch Butterfly Grove is also nearing a record low population count.
According to the Xerces Society conservation group, this winter, the 28th annual western monarch count amounted to just more than 550 butterflies in Pismo Beach.
That's the second-lowest number ever recorded since tracking began in 1997.
Xerces Society Conservation Biologist Isis Howard says it will take a coordinated effort to see the numbers improve.
"It's going to take everyone," Howard said. "It's going to take different levels of participation, but individuals can do so much from collecting data to advocating for habitat to be protected in their communities to installing habitat or spreading the word."
WATCH: Near-record low monarch butterfly count at Pismo Beach
The 550 butterflies counted this year compared to more than 100,000 back in 1997.
Statewide, only 9,000 monarchs were counted in their over-wintering sites while more than a million were counted in the state back in the 1990s.
