With bright orange wings edged in deepest black dotted with sparkling white, the monarch butterfly may just be the most recognized flutter-bye in North America. The 3,000-mile journey they make across the country each year, August through September, to overwinter in Mexico delights monarch fans who gather when they drape trees in California and cover whole forests in Mexico with their bright bodies.

But over the past 20 years, the once plentiful monarchs in North America have dwindled so rapidly the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared them an endangered species in danger of extinction. Individual butterfly lovers, interest groups, community organizations, conservationists, businesses and government agencies are working to reverse the trend. They’re raising awareness, e

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