Thousands of monarch butterflies could be found at the Ellwood Mesa in Goleta last year.
This year, biological consultants have counted only four butterflies at the Ellwood Main Butterfly Grove, the largest wintering site in Southern California.
That's a big change from the past few years. The maximum population counts at the butterfly grove during the overwintering seasons were 15,055 in 2021-22, 12,387 in 2022-23 and 26,383 in 2023-24.
From October to March, monarchs can usually be found in the area as they arrive along the coast and search for overwintering habitats. Typically, they settle into the groves of trees where the wind protection and habitat fit their needs.
The monarch population has been steadily declining for decades. Specifically, the migratory western monarch population has decreased 95% since the 1980s.
Experts believe the decline is because of increasing heat, wildfires, droughts and severe storms in their overwintering and breeding habitats, according to the City of Goleta's website.
Things are so dire that the monarchs soon could get federal protections under the Endangered Species Act.
George Thomson, Goleta's parks and open space manager, said scientists are pointing to several heat waves in the Great Basin area over the summer as a reason for a lack of butterflies this season.
"Really what it comes down to, when monarchs are laying their eggs on milkweed in those vast grasslands, the intense heat caused quite a few of those eggs to die, more so than in previous years," Thomson said.
Additionally, the adult monarch population was badly hit by storms in the spring during their migration inland.
"We had a couple periods during the winter where it looked like, for all practical reasons, that spring had sprung and monarch butterflies along the coast started to migrate inland, and then we got hit with really intense storms," Thomson said.
"Those adult monarch butterflies obviously did not make it through those storms, so that kind of sets the whole population back going into the spring migration season."
On Saturday, more than 50 volunteers helped plant eucalyptus trees within the Ellwood Butterfly Grove to restore the grove as a habitat for monarchs. Many of the existing trees within the grove have been devastated by droughts and are now a wildfire risk.
The volunteer day was hosted by the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade and the City of Goleta.
Trees were planted in specific areas to create a wind buffer for the monarchs, which protects them from strong wind and rain.
The city is also working on planting more than 10,000 native plants that will provide nectar for the monarchs, Thomson said.
Joanna Kreling and other volunteers spent Saturday morning hiking into the grove with a wheelbarrow, getting the trees where they needed to go, and planting them.
"I love butterflies and want them to stay in Santa Barbara and keep coming to Santa Barbara and promote this for where kids can come in the future," Kreling said.
She said she was particularly motivated to get involved when she saw how few butterflies were in the grove this year.
"I'm worried and concerned that that is going to be an ongoing trend," Kreling said. "I'm here to see if we can reverse that and see what we can do to make it more enticing for them to come back."
Chris Goodrich said he remembers when he used to be able to see thousands of monarchs visiting the grove each year, and said he was shocked to learn how few there are this year, which is why he volunteered to help plant new trees.
"Santa Barbara is a glorious place," Goodrich said. "It's got incredible kinds of birds and insects and lizards. We don't want to lose that."
Goodrich said he used to spend his time volunteering for various causes all around the world, but now that he's older, he spends his time volunteering close to home. He's gone to several tree planting days the city has hosted at the Mesa.
"It's short but sweet. You're exhausted, but at the end of the day you've done something useful," Goodrich said. "If we're gonna save the planet, it takes everyone. You can't just stand by and watch it rot. You gotta help."