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KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOSMonarch butterflies are known to make their winter homes in the eucalyptus trees lining Modoc Road.
Citizens who have expressed distress over the Modoc Multi-Use Path have many concerns. One of them is that the implementation of the path could impact the eucalyptus trees, where monarch butterflies have made their home.
“It is safe to say that I and other members of CAMP are distressed that eucalyptus trees will be cut down,” Eva Inbar, CAMP volunteer, told the News-Press in an email. One of the reasons for this is that the Eucalyptus trees are known as the monarch’s habitat.
“Think of the Ellwood Monarch Grove! They are now in the Preserve mainly for the milkweed that was recently planted, but we cannot continue to destroy their habitat because these trees are non-native,” said Ms. Inbar.
“Monarch butterflies use eucalyptus trees and other large trees as shelter during the winter months. At Goleta’s Ellwood Mesa Monarch Butterfly Grove, Tasmanian bluegum (eucalyptus globulus) is the tree species that forms most of the habitat they use during the winter. They migrate here in the fall, spend the winter in areas along the coast that have large, typically dense stands of trees, and then they leave in the spring to go to their breeding grounds located in the inland areas of the western U.S. Elsewhere in the state, such as up in central California and the Bay Area, monarch butterflies use Monterey cypress, Monterey pine and Western sycamore for overwintering habitat. Down in mainland Mexico, oyamel fir is the main tree species used by monarchs for overwintering habitat,” George Thompson, Parks & Open Space Manager for the Public Works Department of Goleta, told the News-Press in an email.
A eucalyptus tree, left, stands along Modoc Road.“I just want to say that the monarch butterfly is endangered and we don’t see a lot of them in the preserve, I see more in my backyard than I do in the preserve. It’s obviously something the county needs to consider as they continue their planning process,” Alex Rodriguez, President of the La Cumbre Water Company Board of Directors, told the News-Press.
Alignment A would impact only two eucalyptus trees, adjacent to the preserve but not in the preserve itself. Alignment B would impact only one eucalyptus tree, which is actually in the preserve itself, according to the Aug. 19 update from the County Public Works Department.
Congressman Salud Carbajal advocated for the endangerment status of monarch butterflies in a letter sent to the Department of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, on Feb. 4. The letter was signed by Congressman Salud Carbajal as well as many other members of Congress.
“One of America’s most iconic pollinators, the monarch butterfly, has been trending toward extinction. This essential pollinator faces growing threats from the loss of milkweed and habitat, global climate change and disease. The most recent annual population counts show a decline of 85% for the eastern U.S. population that overwinters in Mexico and a decline of 99.9% for monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains, which overwinter in California. After two years of reaching record-setting lows of 30,000 butterflies, down from 1.2 million just two decades ago, the most recent numbers show that only 1,914 monarch butterflies were recorded overwintering on the California coast this year … The decision to delay protecting the monarch is especially alarming given that both the eastern and western populations are well below the extinction thresholds at which government scientists estimate the migrations could collapse,” reads the Congressional letter.
“It is a good thing that Salud Carbajal is advocating for endangerment status, but his ability to intervene in our case is probably limited as he is dealing with federal issues,” said Ms. Inbar.
The office of Congressman Carbajal confirmed in an email to the News-Press that the Congressman has no jurisdiction over the Modoc Multi-Use Path as the project belongs to the county.
To sign the petition to “Save the Modoc Trees” go to the following link: https://www.change.org/p/save-the-modoc-road-trees?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=74a99e20-f65c-11ec-b717-4152e9f36e45
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
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