A historic North American tour will make its way to Laredo and Nuevo Laredo this week as Kansas City Southern (KCS), Laredo Gateway Rotary, and Nuevo Laredo Nuevas Generaciónes Rotary Club seek to raise awareness about the plight of the Monarch butterfly. Laredo and Nuevo Laredo were chosen for this moment because of Kansas City Southern’s sponsorship of the newly developing 6.2-mile Binational Riverfront Project that includes planned habitat sanctuaries for the Monarch on both sides of the river.
A Monarch boxcar is a key visual component of the tour that began in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and will end at the Monarch sanctuary in Michoacan where the Monarch overwinters after completing its epic 1,200-mile journey.
The Laredo/Nuevo Laredo stop will feature several events that run from October 5-October 8. Local partners include the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico Consulate in Laredo, Rio Grande International Study Center (RGISC), Laredo Gateway Rotary Club, Rotario Nueva Generación de Nuevo Laredo, International Bank of Commerce, City of Laredo, and Municipio de Nuevo Laredo.
“This is an extraordinary moment for us to tell the world how important our border community is, not just in the world of commerce and trade, but in being able to play a key ecological role to save this iconic orange and black species from extinction,” said Tricia Cortez, RGISC executive director.
These are the Monarch butterfly events of Oct. 5 through 8:
Wed., Oct. 5, 6 p.m. – Butterfly Cocktail Reception
Mexican Cultural Institute of Laredo, The Outlet Shoppes of Laredo (Level 2), 1600 Water St.
Thurs., Oct. 6, 9:30 a.m., – Monarch Butterfly Rail Bridge Ceremony,
Zaragoza St. at Santa Isabel Ave.
11 a.m. Planting of native plants for Monarch butterflies and other pollinators by nearly 60 students from Laredo and Nuevo Laredo
Fri., Oct. 7, 3:30 p.m. – Executive Briefing on Binational Riverfront Project, Estacion Palabra, Av. César López de Lara 1020, Centro, 88000 Nuevo Laredo.
Sat., Oct. 8, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. – Children’s Monarch Butterfly Celebration Estacion Palabra, Av. César López de Lara 1020, Centro, 88000 Nuevo Laredo
Photo Op: Monarch Butterfly Rail Bridge Ceremony, October 6, 2022, 9:30 a.m.
From the ground pointing up to the railroad bridge, media should be able to get some very good shots of the hand off of the Monarch butterfly statue MOMA on the railroad bridge. The mayors of both cities, the CG’s of both cities plus the presidents of the Laredo Gateway Rotary Club and the Nuevo Laredo Nuevas Generaciónes Rotary Club.
About Saving the Monarch Butterfly:
Kansas City Southern (KCS), Canadian Pacific (CP), GATX, Monterrey Metropolitan Rotary Club (Rotary) and NASCO launched the Save the Monarch Butterfly 60,000 Tree Challenge North American Boxcar Tour to raise $100,000 to plant 60,000 oyamel fir trees at El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Michoacán, Mexico to help reestablish the Monarch population.
Monarch butterflies are among the most recognizable butterfly species in North America. In addition to being an international symbol of the environment, monarch butterflies contribute to the health of the planet. Pollinators are critical to global food security and healthy natural ecosystems, but they’re disappearing at an alarming rate. Beloved across its trinational North American range, the iconic monarch has only a 10 percent chance of persisting above the extinction threshold over the next 30 years. The time is now to protect monarchs and their incredible 3,000-mile migration.
In July, the International Union for Conservation of Nature red-listed the migratory monarch as endangered, placing it just two steps from extinction. While this listing is not the same as a listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, it is another loud call to action that an all-hands-on-deck approach for monarch and pollinator conservation is needed.
In support of the 60,000 Tree Challenge, a crowd-funding QR code is featured on the side of the boxcar. This fall, the boxcar is stopping at events in Windsor, Ont.; Chicago; Kansas City, Mo.; Laredo, Texas; Nuevo Laredo, Tamps.; Monterrey, N.L.; San Luis Potosi, S.L.P.; Querétaro, Qro.; Morelia, Mich.; and end at the El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary. In coordination with local Rotary clubs, these events are generating awareness and raising funds to help save the butterfly. This innovative environmental project is an example of the commitment of the sponsoring organizations to sustainability.
Monarchs appear to use a combination of air currents, the magnetic pull of the earth and the position of the sun, among other guides, to find their way south to Michoacán, Mexico for the winter and to the United States and Canada for the summer. Monarchs only travel during the day and need to find a roost at night, where they gather at waystations to rest, refuel, breed, and lay eggs along the way. Many of these locations are used year after year.
Although the oyamel forests in Mexico are recognized as important to monarch butterflies, deforestation and climate change over decades have fragmented the habitat. The disappearance of the oyamel forest affects the monarch butterfly and the local communities that rely on the forest for their livelihoods, water, healthy soil and erosion control.
Spokespeople: David Eaton, Kansas City Southern Vice President (Monarch initiative founder)
