The Little Humbugs: Global ReLeaf Project

Global ReLeaf
A PROJECT REPORT

Date: February 15, 2009

Project Name: La Cruz Habitat Protection Project

Organization Reporting: La Cruz Habitat Protection Project, Inc.

Project Location: The State of Michoacán, México, in and around the Monarch

Butterfly Biosphere Reserve.

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Narrative
A. Review – Project Summary
Restoring forest in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve buffer zones and other areas around the monarch's over-wintering habitat is helping to secure the long-term survival of the Monarchs in their winter habitat. This work also makes a positive impact on the health of the environment and the well being of the local people, most of whom live in poverty and depend on the forest for their daily needs. By growing and distributing high quality seedlings, providing technical assistance to promote sustainable forest management and educating participants about the value of their forest, our project is dedicated to bringing environmental and economic stability to an area negatively impacted by extensive deforestation.

This is an area of high wood demand. Domestic uses alone (primarily as fuel-wood) has been estimated at 200,000 cubic meters per year within the Reserve. The long-term conservation strategy of this project is to implement reforestation and forest restoration in order to provide alternative sources of wood that will reduce wood harvesting pressure within the essential monarch butterfly habitat in the core zone of the Reserve. Logistical support, high quality seedlings, as well as follow up support allows participants to restore and sustainably manage their new forests. This allows them to secure a better life for themselves and for their offspring. In addition to reforestation in areas where wood may be sustainably harvested, a portion of our trees are planted to restore soils and watersheds, on eroded former agricultural lands and in forests degraded by fires or logging with the purpose of protecting spring-fed water sources and preventing landslides. Vigorously growing forests that result from our project contribute to the battle against climate change by sequestering atmospheric carbon.

The project includes the following components:
1) Cultivation of high quality pine, oyamel and cedar seedlings.
2) Recruitment of local landowner participants interested in restoring degraded forests or converting degraded farmland to sustainably managed forest.
3) Transportation and distribution of seedlings to local landowners at the proper
time and place during the rainy season.
4) Planting of seedlings by local landowners and community volunteers.
5) Monitoring of reforestation sites to collect basic site data, observe overall conditions and maintenance needs, and evaluate seedling survival rates.
6) Training and technical assistance for landowners in seedling planting and
care, and in woodlot maintenance, including re-planting, tree pruning, thinning and pest control, and sustainable harvesting.

The seedlings sponsored by American Forests were used to reforest approximately 70 hectares (173 acres). Based on monitoring activities conducted to date, the American Forests sponsored trees were planted at 66 individually documented planting sites. Participants in the program sponsored by American Forests included four ejidos and two indigenous communities (with
numerous individual members participating), one federal higher learning institution where trees were planted by an elementary school, eight public schools, in addition to 19 families with private land parcels outside of ejidos and indigenous communities, plus approximately 250 additional participants who received small numbers of trees where the planting sites were not individually
documented.

1) Summary of the 171,000 trees sponsored by American Forests Global

ReLeaf:
a. Number & species of trees: 136,750 pseudostrobus pine (Pinus pseudostrobus), 3,000 Michoacan Pine (Pinus michoacana), 21,050 Gregii pine

(Pinus greggii), and 10,200 “white cedar” (Cupressus lindleyii)

b. Conditions When Planted: optimal, with near daily rainfall.
c. Organization responsible for care and maintenance: For trees planted to restore communal forest land collectively owned and managed by

Ejido San Pedro Tarimbaro, the Crescencio Morales Indigenous Community and the San Cristobal Indigenous Community, care and maintenance of the planting sites will be the responsibility of all community members, and the benefits of forest restoration will accrue to all community members. For trees planted on public school grounds or school-owned property, tree care will be aresponsibility of the students, teachers and parents of the students, and it is expected that the care of the planted trees will provide an ongoing educational opportunity for students and teachers.

For trees planted on family-managedland parcels, primarily to reforest land that was previously used for agricultural production and/or grazing, care and maintenance of seedlings will be the
responsibility of the land-owning families.

d. The sign recognizing sponsorship by American Forests’ Global ReLeaf that was installed on the property of the federal higher learning institution, “Instituto Technologico de Zitacuaro”, at the location where 8,500 pines were planted by a local primary school.

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF THE LITTLE HUMBUGS AND THE CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS HELPING THE MONARCH BUUTERFLY