Parkside Chats: 2025 Monarch Butterfly Population Count

On February 25, 2026, California State Parks Foundation’s Parkside Chats Series webinar explored the latest findings from the 2025 western monarch butterfly population count. Parkside Chats is our virtual event series featuring webinars and virtual tours that highlight the people and programs working to protect and strengthen California’s state parks.

We were joined by California State Parks Environmental Scientists Dena Spatz and Stephanie Little, along with Emma Pelton, Senior Endangered Species Conservation Biologist at the Xerces Society. Together, they shared insights from this year’s monarch count, recent research, and what the data reveals about the ongoing challenges facing western monarchs and the conservation efforts underway in state parks.

We were grateful to host this timely conversation and to spotlight the collaborative work happening across agencies and organizations to help ensure a future for monarch butterflies in California’s state parks.


About Parkside Chats  

It’s our newest virtual event series, designed to bring the best of California’s state parks to a wider audience and create opportunities to learn and engage.  The goal is to bring together park lovers, experts, and community voices. Parkside Chats will highlight conservation, history, climate resilience, and access to parks.  

Stay connected and hear about upcoming events by signing up for our email list and checking out our events page! 


Support Educational Events like This 

Programs like Parkside Chats are made possible thanks to the generosity of our members and supporters. If you found this webinar valuable, please consider becoming a member or making a donation to help us continue hosting meaningful conversations that honor and uplift the diverse stories. 

Event Speakers

Dena Spatz
Dena Spatz, Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist)

Dena is the statewide wildlife lead for California State Parks focusing on a diversity of wildlife conservation needs. In this role, Dena serves as the coordinator for special status species such as the western monarch and the western snowy plover, where she supports state parks staff in monitoring, science, outreach, management planning and funding to enhance programs and uplift species outcomes. Dena also serves on statewide working groups addressing biodiversity declines, including the California Multi-Agency Monarch and Pollinator Collaborative and the California Biodiversity Network. Dena previously worked as the Biodiversity Coordinator for CDFW, has a background in seabird conservation and invasive species management, and holds a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology with an applied conservation focus from UC Santa Cruz. 

Emma Pelton
Emma Pelton, Senior Endangered Species Conservation Biologist

As the Xerces Society's western monarch lead, Emma works on the western population of monarch butterflies, including adaptive management of overwintering habitat in California and breeding habitat throughout the western U.S. Emma completed a master's degree in agroecology and entomology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison where her research focused on landscape ecology and an invasive fly that affects fruit crops. Previously, Emma worked at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – Endangered Resources program as a biologist and on organic vegetable farms in southern Wisconsin. 

Stephanie Little
Stephanie Little, Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist)

Stephanie has been employed with California Department of Parks and Recreation since 2004.  Most of her career has been spent at Pismo State Beach and Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area in San Luis Obispo County.  Stephanie has extensive experience monitoring and managing State and Federal listed species including tidewater goby, steelhead, western snowy plover, California least tern, and California red-legged frog. She also surveys the monarch butterflies that overwinter at Pismo State Beach and is instrumental in carrying out management actions that protect and improve their overwintering habitat.