Researchers believe the Western Monarch butterfly's population floor is about 30,000. Anything below that number could make it impossible for the species to make a recovery.
And the Thanksgiving Count last fall showed fewer than 30,000 already. Organizations focused on preserving the Monarch put out a call to action to urge people to help the butterflies return to their former numbers.
Those include the Xerces Society, based in Portland. Emma Pelton is the biologist leading Western Monarch efforts at Xerces, and our guest.