THE LA CRUZ HABITAT PROTECTION PROJECT AND REFORESTATION IN THE MONARCH OVERWINTERING AREAS

The La Cruz Habitat Protection Project is based at Hacienda La Cruz in Central Michoacan near the town of Santa Clara del Cobre. Michoacan is the State that runs from the transvolcanic mountains west of Mexico City to the Pacific Ocean. Jose Alvarez Alcala bought Hacienda La Cruz, a 400 year old hacienda in 1983. After living in the area for a number of years, he saw what was happening to the monarch overwintering areas and two lakes near Hacienda La Cruz, Lake Patzcuaro and Lake Ziruhuen. Lake Patzcuaro is the site of the world famous butterfly fishing boats. It is now almost completely dead because of the effects of deforestation. Lake Ziruhuen is still fairly pristine, but it is becoming badly degraded. Jose Luis has been working withlocal landowners and helping them to reforest their lands since 1987. In 1996 he created the La Cruz Habitat Protection Project. The first lands in the monarch overwintering areas were planted in the summer of 1997.