WE ARE STILL HERE AND VERY ACTIVE
NEWS FOR 2014
Latest Interview CBS radio affiliate CA Based uploaded to Youtube - February 8, 2014
We have been preparing for the inevitable news of 2014
This year AGAIN marks the lowest number of over wintering Monarchs in the Mexican mountains.
50% fewer Monarchs were found in the Mountains of Mexico over wintering than last year. 2013 marked their lowest recorded numbers since discovery of their hidden sites 25 years ago.
Monarchs over wintering are now 97% fewer than at their recorded height.
What this means: If you are part of a group of 100 and wake up to find you have only two friends left, you have a big problem.
This news is similar to what we posted more than a year ago and has not changed. Our 2013 report below has not been altered in any way and reflects our certainty, that we must take immediate and widespread action.
We must take responsibility for our part in supporting systems that destroy habitat and to influence those persons who control large areas of sensitive lands across which Monarchs must travel. Did you use pesticides? Did you buy GMO products? Did you plant a seed? Did you educate yourself or others?
We have all supported a system that focuses on production and profit to the exclusion of all else. When millions of acres of HISTORICALLY AND NATURALLY occurring habitat = Milkweed is systematically eliminated for hundreds of miles in every direction along HISTORICAL MIGRATION PATHWAYS there must be a compromise. Farms now plant edge to edge with no margins left for any other type of plant and GMO = Open air distribution of Pesticides and Chemical resistance to highly toxic chemicals that eliminate anything else in the field or region, in the case of the MEGA corporate farm. This is not NATURAL, this is UNFAIR, this is WRONG.
We must give the Monarchs our voices and take action to ensure that their right to travel safely across North America is not a matter of extreme luck but their protected right. Would we allow our children to be poisoned, our pets indiscriminately killed and our selves required to navigate millions of miles of land mine fields all with invisible boundaries? Of course not! This is not a difficult situation or complicated problem and requires only two steps:
1. Plant Milkweed - restore their migratory routes.
2. Protect their Plants and their migratory routes.
They were here first. They shared our daily lives and rituals for a millennia as our connection to the great spirit above. We took their golden crowns and colored wings as signifiers of our own authority and they did not harm us as we invaded, covered their lands and eradicated their food sources.
We must assist the Monarch and put an end to destructive profit driven practices that murder our wildlife and poison our ecosystem or we are all doomed to be part of the unintended destruction in the war to produce profit at the expense of everything else. We are all responsible. For 12 years we have quietly organized the planting of millions of seeds annually by many thousands of individuals. NOW it is time for us to give the Monarchs our voices too and stop their systematic destruction by the use of technology without conscience and protection for those whom can not speak or are to small to be heard. Take action.
Wake up! we all have a big problem.
Please support local growers of healthy, pesticide free native milkweed if no local resource exists please become one. One seed can change the world ! We need you to plant it.
We are planting Milkweed for the upcoming season. Please find milkweed seeds as soon as you can and reserve plants so you can be ready for the 2014 Monarch Migration. While we have started thousands of Milkweed plants in October 2103 and have partnered with nurseries and producers to supply more milkweed, we will be unable to meet the full need of the Monarchs (MILLIONS OF PLANTS). You must join with us to make your backyard a sanctuary and share your seeds and knowledge with others. We have started early in anticipation of tremendous demand due to our historical position as a low cost provider, but if unplanned demand overwhelms our production capacity, please know we are doing our best. The weather must cooperate so we can safely ship them to you. The weather will typically cause delays and we appreciate your patience.
Christopher- LMF Founder
NEWS FOR 2013
COULD WE LOOSE THE MONARCH MIGRATION IN OUR LIFETIME? YES
Monarchs need your help NOW! This year marks the lowest number of over wintering Monarchs in the Mexican mountains in the last 20 years...and we have only know about their over wintering sites for 20 years!. There are 94% fewer than at their recorded height and 59% less than there were last year.
This is a crisis situation ! Think about it...only 6% left and still having to face an uncertain future.
There is a nationwide shortage of milkweed. Freak weather patterns destroy habitat and kill millions of helpless Monarchs. But these natural events are not the only challenge that faces the Monarch. Pesticide application and genetically modified crops cover important parts of the Monarchs migratory path and serve as killing fields for any monarch that passes through these millions of acres of toxins and biological agents that kill them and their young. They are unintended casualties in a war to protect crops, or even our front yards.
Are our Monarchs worth our efforts to protect? Do we even know the total effects on our environment from the use of these toxic agents? We are all part of a worldwide science project and all of us are at risk of becoming unintended victims. Habitat must be protected now to ensure their survival, before we see the day when this miracle of nature is only a memory. The Monarchs need your help NOW. Please plant seeds and ensure their survival. A Milkweed in every yard!
You have the power to instantly change the world !
Plant a seed today and change your backyard.
Educate yourself about the effects of your actions.
Take responsibility for your actions.
Plant an idea by sharing your knowledge.
Educate others and ask them to take responsibility for their actions too.
Make the decision to think, act, and be responsible for yourself and all you impact.
Choose not to support ideas or actions that harm our environment.
You are an important part of any solution !
Winter has been here too long and we are making every effort to grow milkweed for a tremendous part of the country and many breeders and educators that are very late to begin planting seeds. Please place any orders ASAP so you will be able to get on our backorder list for plants. Typically we have an Easter season filled with flying color but this year will be a struggle for everyone including the monarchs. Planting seeds and raising plants will be of very great importance.
(March 2013) We have already grown and shipped several thousand milkweed plants this year but we are way behind the mountain of orders we are getting for thousands more. We still have plenty of seeds and hope our efforts to distribute literally millions of seeds each year have helped keep the Monarch Migration well fed... we need you to grow more Milkweed and share seeds with your neighbors and friends across North America. Together we can make a big difference.
We are on track to distribute 5 million seeds ! While this sounds like allot, consider the fact that it takes many times that many plants to sustain the Monarch Migration. The real key to success is saving and sharing seeds. One milkweed can produce over 1000 seeds !
Please do your part and plant a seed... in the ground and in the minds of others that will too. THANK YOU.
We have been working with top programmers over the winter to bring you a truly remarkable Community Map where you can fly like a butterfly around the globe and find over 30,000 people just like you that have visited our site and become a part of our world wide campaign to protect Nature and take action today. This Map allows you to see each participant and their home location, any pictures they wanted to share and the profiles they have made. This Map will be used to track Monarch sightings, New community Members, School Projects, Fundraising events, The location of our traveling 40 foot Monarch. Yes, That is not a typo click the link and see where 300 hours of our Founder's vacation time went. We will be flying around the country to help spread the word and plenty of milkweed seed. You will soon be able to see us on the map and follow our migration too. If you want us to stop by your community please let us know.
Videos, Yes there are now several wonderful videos to teach you in depth or especially interesting stuff you need to know and see! Just search the site to find them and watch as many times as you want. You can share them with your friends too. At the moment they are on Youtube.com
While the above NEWS is important we have some other improvements that are good too.
1. Our order department has had a major programming / functionality / database / enhanced notification upgrade! We can finally track most every action on every order through our system. Every action we take, with each order will send you an email update so you know what to expect and when to expect your packages ...especially important if weather is unfavorable for some shipments. We understand that you really want your stuff and we both really want it to arrive alive!
2. Our Logo has had a major improvement...We love the new more accurate picture description of our Global presence. Our site was always global with questions from people around the world. Yes, we have shipped castles to most every country to care for butterflies and many other kinds of insects and animals. A big thank you for all our World Wide friends. You may be as surprised as we were to learn of just where a Monarch butterfly has been found and when.
3. New Staff and new programs designed to give you what you need to make an impact in your community.
4. Our main focus has always been the education we provide and materials we supply to assist you in your efforts to restore and create new habitat for indigenous wildlife. While we have always strived to provide the best quality live Monarch eggs, caterpillars, pupae and adults, these will now be on a limited basis.
5. Please help us to educate others and if you do send them to our site make sure they take the time to read it. We can get soooo many calls and inquiries for information every day that our small staff is easily overwhelmed. While we enjoy your questions we sometimes must refer you to our site to read the content there. We try to incorporate new ideas or questions into our site quickly too. In case we are rushing to finish our daily work and can not take an extended call or write pages in reply to your interesting and lengthy email please understand that we are trying to keep lots of other butterflies and their human friends happy and satisfy their needs as well...We are sorry if a message goes unanswered or is unduly delayed, please contact us again by our contact form in case another method did not work. While really good we are not perfect and try our best to get to your needs quickly.