ASLE Honorary Members Homero & Betty Aridjis have recently been spearheading an effort to save the endangered monarch butterflies, whose wintering territory in the mountains of central Mexico is at risk. Homero and Betty prepared a letter and secured 150 signatures of scientists and writers from around the world, and they used this letter to get the monarch issue on the agenda for the recent North American Leaders’ Summit.

The letter, addressed to Presidents Obama and Peña Nieto and Prime Minister Harper, received excellent coverage in the Mexican and international media, and they were successful in getting the Monarch butterfly on the North American Leaders’ Summit agenda. Here is the relevant paragraph from the joint statement released at the end of the February 19 meeting here in Mexico:

“We will continue to collaborate in the protection of our region’s biodiversity and to address other environmental challenges, such as wildlife trafficking and ecosystems at risk. Our governments will establish a working group to ensure the conservation of the Monarch butterfly, a species that symbolizes our association.”

Next they will be working on the creation of a milkweed corridor along the Monarch’s migratory route through Canada, the US and Mexico. Click here to read the letter that convinced the summit leaders to put Monarch habitat protection on their joint agenda. To read a full transcript of the press conference where this was announced, click here.