“A lot of urban development has destroyed suitable habitat,” said Stuart Weiss of Menlo Park, a conservation biologist with Creekside Center for Earth Observation.
“Monarchs are very finicky about where they make their clusters,” Weiss said. They need the right temperature, humidity and wind exposure; otherwise, they move on to a more suitable area. The forests that monarchs like to cluster in are so small now, “the loss of a few trees can open up a site to more wind,” he said.
Weiss is working with Pacific Grove on a management plan for the sanctuary so it can better deal with the loss of trees or other changes in the grove.
“Urban Development?” Nothing but clueless people put in charge here.