Mexico, US, Canada leaders agree to form working group on conservation of Monarch butterflies

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By Staff  The Associated Press

In this Dec. 9, 2011 file photo a Monarch butterfly sits on a tree trunk at the Sierra Chincua Sanctuary in the mountains of Mexico's Michoacan state.
AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File

 

MEXICO CITY – Mexico, the United States and Canada have agreed to form a working group on the conservation of Monarch butterflies, whose numbers fell to record lows this year at their wintering grounds in central Mexico.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced the decision Wednesday at the end of a one-day summit with U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Experts say the butterflies’ annual migration from the United States and Canada is in danger because of extreme weather, habitat loss due to deforestation and the displacement of milkweed, the Monarchs’ main food source.

Pena Nieto did not announce any specific measures.

The World Wildlife Fund in Mexico called the announcement an important step, but said concrete measures are needed to protect the butterflies’ habitat.