Pollinators play an essential role in the health of our region’s ecosystems, agricultural landscapes, and communities. 

San Luis Obispo County is home to extraordinary biodiversity with over 1300 native plants and hundreds of native insects, birds, and bats that both support and rely on these critical plant communities. One of these species is the Western Monarch butterfly, which depends on our region’s coastline to provide critical overwintering and breeding habitat. In addition, the region’s agricultural sector relies heavily on the services of pollinators. According to the 2024 Annual Crop Report, more than 50% of the crops grown in San Luis Obispo County are pollinator-dependent, with strawberries and wine grapes generating the highest economic values. 

In recent decades, pollinator populations across the United States have declined sharply– with bees and butterflies among the most impacted. According to the Xerces Society, more than a quarter of the roughly 46 bumble bee species in North America face some degree of extinction, and along the California coast, Monarch butterfly populations have declined by over 95% since the 1980’s. In December of 2024, the Pismo State Beach Monarch Grove recorded its lowest population since monitoring began in 1997, with just 197 butterflies compared to the 100,000 observed roughly 30 years before. 

In response, Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District (CSLRCD) is working to enhance pollinator and Monarch habitat across the district by restoring degraded overwintering sites and planting nectar rich habitat on agricultural lands. 

As a participating organization in CDFA’s Conservation Agriculture Planning Grant Program (CAPGP), CSLRCD works directly with farmers and ranchers to develop Pollinator Habitat Plans. Learn more about this opportunity here.

 

Sweet Springs Preserve

In 2021, CSLRCD staff partnered with the Sweet Springs Natural Preserve in Los Osos to enhance the historic overwintering site by planting native trees that Monarchs cluster in over winter and planting plant species that Monarchs use as nectar sources. An interpretive sign highlighting the Monarch butterfly and other pollinators was installed in the preserve, and several field tours were held for local school groups and the public.

Partners: Audubon Society, Xerces
Funders: MBNEP
RCD Contact: Hayley Barnes, hbarnes@coastalrcd.org