Through the biological monitoring program at the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, and with the implementation of the Conservation Program for Sustainable Development (Programa de Conservación para el Desarrollo Sostenible—Procodes) in this protected natural area, monarch butterfly monitoring has been energetically carried out in recent years in the eastern Sierra Gorda region, applying the national standardized monitoring protocol.

As part of the results obtained in the 2014-2016 period, priority passage and stopover sites for the monarch’s autumn migration have been identified and recorded. Thanks to this reporting, the sites are currently being protected and restored. In addition to monitoring, the project includes environmental education activities at schools and communities in the area—in particular, the Queretaro metropolitan area—to promote citizen awareness with respect to the conservation of the migratory phenomenon. In collaboration with local universities, the project also builds capacities to generate and publicize strategic information on this phenomenon.

• Miguel Ángel Cuéllar and Ulises Torres (2016), Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, Queretaro, National Commission for Protected Natural Areas (Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas—Conanp).