Deforestation is a critical problem in Mexico, affecting over half the country’s forests and negatively impacting ecosystems, watersheds and people’s well-being. Mountaintops where millions of Monarch butterflies arrive each fall, after flying up to 2,000 miles from the northern U.S. and Canada, have become islands of remnant forests surrounded by plowed fields and cut over lands; highland lakes are filling with silt from bare slopes that were once forested.

Forests for Monarchs is making a difference. Since 1997, trees have been distributed to communities and small landowners, and the resulting new forests are greening up the mountainsides, helping restore watersheds and giving the people new hope for the well being of their families.

By the end of the 2010 planting season, over 5 million organically grown pine and other native tree seedlings had been planted.