Article content

Numbers of the majestic monarch butterfly have been in a free fall and a plan hatched with the help of golf courses across North America, including two in B.C., is hoping to bring them flying back.

The number of the summer visitors to flower gardens and wildflower fields has plummeted 90 per cent over the past 20 years, according to Audubon International.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or B.C. golf courses part of North American plan to attract Monarch butterflies Back to video

“And it’s worse in the western population, where you are, where there’s been a 95 per cent drop in numbers,” said Marcus Gray of Audubon International.

In Canada, the monarch is listed as threatened on the Canadian government’s species at risk registry.

“The situation is not good,” he said.

The species at risk website says the eastern migratory group moves between east of the Rockies to the Oyamel Forest of central Mexico, where “declines of greater than 50 per cent have occurred over the past decade.” The western migratory group from southern B.C. overwinters along coastal California.