Strategy of LCHPP’s Forest for Monarchs Project:

Restoring forest in and around the monarch butterfly over-wintering habitat is a crucial step in helping to secure the long-term survival of the monarchs and their unique migration. The new forests also help restore the health of the environment and increase the well being of the local people. Small and communal land-owning entities, ejidos, and indigenous communities are the recipients of our trees and are also important beneficiaries. Pressure on the forest is high, since most families living in these mountains use wood for daily cooking and heating, building materials, and as a source of income.

LCHPP’s strategy has always been to offer the local population an alternative access to wood for their daily needs, thus easing the dependence on wood from the core of the Monarch Biosphere Reserve. Through sustainable forest management, participants are developing economic and environmental stability.

This strategy is successful because it addresses the financial and practical needs of the people, while it protects monarch habitat. Our trees improve the soil, safeguard water resources and reduce siltation in lakes and streams, and they benefit the planet by sequestering carbon.