The accompaniment of the authorities to the communities of the monarch butterfly sanctuaries is part of the Michoacán Plan for Peace and Justice, whose objective is to preserve these ecosystems.
Mexico City, November 23 (However).- The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) opened the season hibernation of the monarch butterfly 2025-2026in it Sierra Chincua Sanctuary, Anguéo, Michoacan.
“The President has instructed us to carry out the Michoacán Plan for Peace and Justice and to work extensively with you to preserve the ecosystem integrity of this region because the communities will only be able to protect this area if they have support and technical training,” commented the head of Semarnat, Alicia Bárcena.
The opening of this season coincides with the presidential instruction a few weeks ago to launch the Michoacán Plan for Peace and Justice which, in environmental matters, seeks to strengthen the protection and restoration of the environment, particularly in strategic natural areas such as the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve.
At the Chicua Sanctuary to begin the Monarch Butterfly season, this tireless traveler travels more than 4000 km each year between 🇲🇽🇺🇸🇨🇦 #PlanMichoacanxlaPazylaJusticia pic.twitter.com/XiL2YayoVe
— Alicia Bárcena (@aliciabarcena) November 23, 2025
In this sense, Bárcena highlighted that thanks to the determination of the 121 agrarian nuclei, zero clandestine logging has been achieved in the core area; However, he said, “we also have to take care of the buffer zones, what we want is to guarantee that this migratory corridor between Canada, Mexico and the United States is protected,” he stressed.
For his part, Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, highlighted the importance of protecting the Oyamel forests that make up the monarch butterfly biosphere.
The state president highlighted the importance of preserving the fir forests that make up the monarch butterfly biosphere. Likewise, he highlighted the government efforts made to keep alive one of the most important migrations in the world and that each season attracts thousands of tourists and visitors to this region of the country.
“The communities, the ejidos, the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas and my government continue to conserve the monarch butterfly forest, but we must redouble our efforts to care for this world heritage,” said the president.
Pedro Álvarez-Icaza Longoria, national commissioner of Protected Natural Areas, said that “the opening of these sanctuaries in the 2025-2026 season reaffirms the commitment that the Government of Mexico has with the population of the monarch butterfly, a symbol of migration and renewal.”
The official stressed that the coordination work between the communities that make up the monarch butterfly sanctuaries and the authorities must continue to ensure “that this unique natural process remains the heritage of present and future generations.”
The sanctuaries open in Michoacán are: El Rosario, Ocampo; Senguio, Senguio; and Sierra Chincua, Angangueo; and in the State of Mexico, Piedra Herrada, San Mateo Almomoloa. These shelters will remain open to the public until March 31, 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The journey of the monarch butterfly is one of the best-known migrations of insects and the animal world, they fly just over four thousand kilometers, from the United States and Canada, to the temperate fir forests on the borders of the State of Mexico and Michoacán, where they hibernate.
The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve protects the hibernation habitats of this species, among which are eight colonies and an estimated 70 percent of its total population.
