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Following the Monarch Migration by Pilot to Accompany Butterflies Along Route (news article, Lawrence Journal-World 8/10/2005)
Click HERE to follow the route in detail Click HERE for Vico's schedule (text in Spanish)
Pilot to Accompany Butterflies Along Route Monarch migration By Terry Rombeck (Reproduced with permission) When the monarch butterflies later this month begin their 2,500-mile flight from Canada through Kansas to central Mexico, someone will be tagging along. Francisco “Vico” Gutierrez plans to join the distinctively colored butterflies in a scooter-like, ultra-light airplane to track their annual migration. “For the size of this incredible insect, it’s amazing what they do to arrive in Mexico,” Gutierrez said. “It’s going to be an adventure.” Gutierrez plans to take off from Montreal, Canada, on Aug. 21 and arrive near Valle Del Bravo, Mexico, in early November. Along the way, he’ll be filming a documentary about the migration and stopping in various places to raise awareness about habitat conservation for butterflies — including a stop Sept. 25-27 in Lawrence.
Francisco “Vico” Gutierrez sits at the front of his “Papalotzin” ultra-light plane with an unidentified assistant during a presentation to the press in Mexico City. Gutierrez and a crew including other pilots from Canada, the United States and Mexico plan to leave Quebec on Aug. 21 to follow thousands of Monarch butterflies during every part of their winter migration from the forests of eastern Canada to the central Mexican mountains. Gutierrez, who lives near monarch sanctuaries in Mexico’s Michoacan state, has been flying hang-gliders more than 30 years. He’s been involved in previous documentaries and in hang-gliding competitions. “Every time I’d pass by the sanctuary, I’d see so (much) illegal logging, and every year comes less and less monarchs,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday. “So I decided to do this flight to promote conservation.” The butterflies make their journey straight south, more or less, from Canada to Mexico. Gutierrez and a small crew are taking a more complicated route, to accommodate interviews with butterfly experts and to hit major population centers for publicity. He’ll be flying at 3,000 to 4,000 feet in a 400-pound, 34-by-8-foot plane that somewhat resembles a butterfly, with orange, black and white wings. Stops are planned in Toronto; Niagara Falls, N.Y.; New York City; Washington, D.C.; Lawrence; Oklahoma City; Austin, Texas; and Eagle Pass on the Texas-Mexico border.
Mexican pilot Francisco “Vico” Gutierrez, second from left, stands with assistants and sponsors around his “Papalotzin” ultra-light plane during a presentation to the press at a park last week in Mexico City, Mexico. Gutierrez and a crew including other pilots from Canada, the United States and Mexico, plan to leave Quebec on Aug. 21 to follow thousands of Monarch butterflies during every part of their winter migration from the forests of eastern Canada to the central Mexican mountains. In Lawrence, Gutierrez plans to interview Chip Taylor, a Kansas University professor who directs the Monarch Watch program, an international effort that tags and researches butterflies and promotes conservation. “It’s an interesting project,” Taylor said. “They’re attracting a lot of attention. Hopefully it’ll do some good and raise some awareness and maybe even some money for this.”
Gutierrez’s project is dubbed Papalotzin, a word from the ancient Nahuatl language spoken by the Aztecs that roughly translates to small butterfly. It’s being sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund of Mexico, the government of Michoacan state and Gutierrez himself. “My main aim is to let the people know about this incredible phenomenon,” he said. “We have to get attention from the government of Mexico, and put pressure for it to take care of the forest and try to watch for logging.” -- Mike Shields
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 11:14:21 EDT Attention News Editors: Welcome Celebration Planned for Papalotzin LEAMINGTON, Ontario, Aug. 29 /CNW Telbec/ - Point Pelee National Park of Canada and the Corporation of the Municipality of Leamington, in collaboration with the Leamington and District Chamber of Commerce, are hosting a welcome celebration for Papalotzin, a tiny one-person ultra-light plane being flown from Canada to Mexico following the migration path of the monarch butterfly. The purpose of this journey is to raise awareness for monarch butterfly conservation. The event, scheduled to be held on Wednesday August 31st at 10:30 but postponed due to impending post-tropical storm Katrina until Thursday September 1st at 9:30, will recognize and celebrate the cultural and natural connections the region has with Mexico. The community of Leamington seasonally employs over 4000 people each year from Mexico. Similarly, monarch butterflies make their way from Canada to Mexico and back each year. The Papalotzin (an Aztec word for "small butterfly") project is being spearheaded by Francisco "Vico" Gutierrez, the ultra-light pilot and project director, along with the Mexican Michoacan State Government and the World Wildlife Fund-Mexico. The trip is being filmed for a documentary about the life, flight and challenges of the monarch butterfly During the journey, the Papalotzin crew will be organizing events and press conferences to raise awareness of both local and international monarch conservation issues. The ultralight plane, which is painted like a monarch, will began its journey in Montreal, Quebec, continue through the province of Ontario, the United States, and into Mexico, ending its journey in the butterfly sanctuaries of Michoacan. As a public celebration, everyone is invited. The event will start with the ultra-light plane landing near the Leamington Marina. Anticipated landing time is 10:30 am. The Papalotzin welcoming celebration will include a sampling of locally prepared Mexican food and Mexican music. The Pelee Island Winery, the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers and Flavour Pict Produce are sponsoring the celebration. The Pelee Island Winery is also sponsoring the pilot and crew during their stay in Leamington and on Pelee Island. Point Pelee National Park of Canada is one of 41 national parks in Canada protecting and presenting significant examples of our nation's natural and cultural heritage.
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2005 09:08:50 EDT Todays post from Don Davis in Toronto. He is posting daily to the Dplex list and is able to spend alot of time with the Papalotzin group and others as you will read. He is contact with someone of the crew and will be getting excellent monitoring as they continue on their journey. Another outstanding day of filming, public relations and interviews and outstanding weather. Light rain arrived late in the evening while we sat enjoying a beautiful meal of sausage (this area has a large population of Canadians of German origin), sweet corn, salad, followed by a dessert of ice cream smothered with fresh diced Ontario peaches. Of course, we drank "Monarch" wine! The Team spent much of the day answering questions from the general public. Pilot Vico did an important interview via cell phone to Washington D.C. (Voice of America). We also filmed monarchs in the alfalfa field I have mentioned in previous posts. There were many monarchs and I was very impressed by their large size and very fresh appearance. We later visit and filmed a portion of John Powers' amazing collection of butterfly and monarch materials. John has even managed to collect the original dies used to print and cut early Urquhart tags. John holds a Guinness Record (1984) for owning the largest moth in the world - a specimen that is over 70 years of age. Not being certain if Ontario was going to receive heavy rain from Katrina, the Team elected to remain another night in Breslau as guests of Kees and Sabina Kennema, owners of the Greenway Blooming Centre. A number of teachers came by and spoke with John Powers and Kees about purchasing butterfly garden plants from them and designing a butterfly garden. This morning, our gasoline prices jumped 20 cents to about $1.20 per litre. This is an overreaction by the oil companies, and prices should go down shortly. I understand that John Powers may be offering some support to the Team through a sponsor re: fuel costs. More on this later. Don Davis
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2005 11:19:31 EDT This link was sent to me by Don Davis who is spending time in Canada with the crew of the Papalotzin expedition. It is about 45 minutes long but is interesting. There are three guests discussing the migration of the monarch, along with other species of animals and birds in general. Thanks to Don Davis for keeping me abreast of the newest news. When you go into this website, click on August 30th Animal Migration. It will take a couple minutes to download. http://www.voanews.com/english/NewsAnalysis/TTA-New-Past-Shows.cfm Fran
Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2005 Parks Canada welcomes Papalotzin LEAMINGTON, Sept. 1 /CNW Telbec/ - On behalf of the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, the Honourable Jerry Pickard, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry and Member of Parliament for Chatham-Kent-Essex, today celebrated the arrival of Papalotzin to Point Pelee National Park of Canada in the Leamington Ontario region. "Just as citizens of Mexico come to Leamington every summer and return to their southern homes each fall, so too does the tiny monarch butterfly," said Minister Dion. "The Papalotzin project is an exceptional way of celebrating nature, as well as our natural and cultural connections." Point Pelee National Park of Canada and the Corporation of the Municipality of Leamington, in collaboration with the Leamington and District Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the Papalotzin, a tiny one-person ultra-light plane being flown from Canada to Mexico following the migration path of the monarch butterfly. The purpose of this journey is to raise awareness of monarch butterfly conservation. Each year, millions of monarchs make the long journey from southern Canada to spend the winter in the pine and fir forests of the state of Michoacan in central Mexico. Point Pelee National Park is an important stop on the monarchs' route. Every fall, as the monarchs attempt to cross the Great Lakes, thousands land in Point Pelee before continuing the trek south. Point Pelee National Park was named as an international monarch butterfly reserve in 1995 under the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation because of the unique and important role it plays in the migration of the butterflies. The Papalotzin (an Aztec word for small butterfly) project is being spearheaded by Francisco "Vico" Gutierrez, the ultra-light pilot and project director, along with the Mexican Michoacan State Government and the World Wildlife Fund-Mexico. His trip is being filmed for a documentary about the life, flight and challenges of the monarch butterfly. The ultralight plane he is flying, which is painted like a monarch, began its journey in Montreal, Quebec, and will travel through the province of Ontario, the United States, and into Mexico, before ending its journey in the butterfly sanctuaries of Michoacan. The Papalotzin journey is not only raising awareness of the importance of conserving the Canadian and American habitat along the monarch migration route, but also of the depletion of forests in Mexico where the monarchs spend their winters hibernating. While there have been many conservation initiatives over the last few decades, depletion of these forests still threatens the winter home of the tiny butterfly. "The bringing together of international non-government and government organisations, as well as community interests, is an acknowledgement that the preservation and protection of our natural heritage, including the monarch butterfly, is integral to our quality of life and global identity," added Mr. Pickard.
Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2005 18:23:11 EDT I was informed last night that our Papalotzin friends made is across the border into the U.S.A. and spent the night at Batavia, New York. Prior to heading to Niagara Falls from Point Pelee, they had to return to Pickering (west of Toronto) to do some work on one wing of the ultralight. Fortunately Michael at High Perspective Hang Gliding School was able to locate the part that was needed, and they headed to Niagara Falls. John Powers tells me that they received a warm reception in Niagara Falls, and a helicopter tour pilot gave them all a brief free ride over the falls area. John also flew with Vico up over the Niagara Falls and they took some excellent footage. Because of the high amount of air traffic in the area, they had to stay at the 4000 foot range. John was most impressed with the view of the falls from 4000 feet. The air was not turbulent and John was impressed with Vico's skills as a pilot. Don Davis
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 09:13:51 EDT http://maps.yahoo.com/maps.py?&addr=&csz=Batavia,NY
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 20:06:11 EDT WHAT: WHO: WHERE: WHEN: DETAILS: --- PHOTO EDITORS: A high resolution, publication-ready photograph supporting this story is available for free editorial use at: [http://www.wirepix.com/cgi-bin/newsphotos/download.cgi?image=USN090805bb.jpg] An archive of this and more than 1,000 news photos is available at: [http://www.usnewswire.com/]
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 14:00:33 EDT Papalotzin (Royal Butterfly in Nahuatl language) and its talented, intrepid crew were warmly welcomed. Welcoming gifts were my book, The Spirit of Butterflies: Myth, Magic and Art, pine needle butterfly pins made by the mountain women in Mexico, a print of the painting Butterfly Moon Woman, by well known artist Melissa Harris, and a wreath of feathered monarchs by Jarita Florist in Woodstock. There was information on reforestation, hand woven pine needle art made by the women who live in the foothills of Cerro Pelon, and packets of milkweed seeds, which were given out for a small donation to Michoacan Reforestation Fund. There was butterfly gardening information and info. on certifying gardens as Monarch Way stations, and/or National Federation of Gardeners Backyard Habitats. There were a number of articles in the local press (two in Daily Freeman the 8th and 10th), RNN T.V. crew was there and the event was on the evening's 6:30 news on the 9th (actually on 6:55 p.m. ) Vico Gutierrez and I were interviewed on WDST Woodstock radio Sunday morning show, Roundtable at 8:15.. A photographer videoed the whole event which is now on DVD - it came out great! The Ulster County historian was there to record the event for the archives. A grand time was had by all. A few monarchs flew over the festivities. The next morning, Saturday, I was speaking at beautiful Minnewaska State Park in the Shawagunk Mountains in New Paltz, N.Y., which the crew filmed. I got to ride in Papalotzin later that afternoon - it was truly soaring like When Papalotzin took off on Monday morning, a monarch butterfly flew around it as it was on the runway about to leave for N.Y.C. - a blessing on its journey. Papalotzin and crew are on a great mission - to quote from one of the articles: Gutierrez called the Monarch a "measure of the health of the Earth" and said "it's time to recover the health of this planet." And Papalotzin, The Journey of Hope, inspires us to keep on working toward that very goal. Maraleen Manos-Jones
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 16:55:13 EDT As you all know, we have following the progress of Vico Gutierrez and the Papalotzin crew on their quest to follow the path of the migrating Monarchs. What you maybe do not know is that the IBBA will become a sponsor of the project and soon we will be listed on their website on the top banner as sponsors. They will be arriving in Dallas, TX, to a fanfare given by our own Linda Rogers and will be showered with t-shirts, cookies, and other goodies as well as a monetary donation from the IBBA to help with their housing and food expenses. The donations are sorely needed and very much appreciated by the group. Vico and the crew are very much looking forward to meeting Linda and will be co-ordinating with her on their arrival. This is a milestone for the Monarch and for the IBBA as well to be involved with such an historic endeavor, with the support of all of you in the IBBA. Visit the website soon for Papalotzin @ http://www.papalotzin.com and see what they are up to next. Hopefully we will see some super pics of their Dallas visit on their website as well as ours. GO PAPALOTZIN!!! (means "little butterfly") Papalotzin Visit to Lawrence, Kansas: [http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/sep/23/butterfly_film_crew_stopping_lawrence/?city_local]
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 17:15:15 EDT [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4858381] Click on the "LISTEN" link right under the heading. It is a very good interview. Fran
October 3, 2005
As part of the ongoing story of Papalotzin (thank you, Fran LeMasters for bringing us this project and working to get our two groups connected so well) - I had the great pleasure of meeting with Vico and the Papalotzin crew at the Discovery Butterfly Gardens at the Texas State Fair today. Dave Clermont of IBBA, in Canada, was the starting point for Vico's journey from Canada to Mexico, following the Monarch migration. The ultralight flew into Texas on Sunday afternoon, after having visited in Oklahoma and also with Chip Taylor at the Monarch Watch program in Kansas. The ultralight is a beautiful machine with it's orange and white Monarch wings..... and it was parked in a grassy spot at the Gardens, tended by Gwen Harper and the other volunteers at the State Fair. There were Monarchs and other butterflies flitting about, looking as if they were almost curious at this huge Monarch-like creature! The Papalotzin crew were just delightful people - so energetic and completely whizzed up about their project (you would think they'd be so tired after such a long journey from Canada to North Central Texas). They swarmed all around me and Steve, and wanted to know all about the IBBA - they were truly amazed that our group cared enough to send greetings, T-Shirts and a donation. They had gotten to know our Dave, and John Powers and others in Canada and are completely enamored with butterfly farming! On behalf of the IBBA, I presented IBBA T-Shirts and a $200 donation to the Papalotzin Project, to assist with their travel expenses. You cannot imagine the appreciative, truly grateful response this brought. The crew immediately changed their shirts and put on the IBBA T-Shirts right there and started snapping photos of the crew next to the ultralight. They all let me know how wonderful "butterfly people" are - and that they had been helped by so many generous people along their way. They ALL told me to tell all of you THANK YOU, MUCHAS GRACIAS AMIGOS.... for the thoughtfulness and donation to their project. They will be leaving this afternoon and I believe their next stop is Eagle Pass, and there are others waiting there to help them along their way. It was such a nice day today, getting to meet the Papalotzin crew and represent all of you to this worthy cause. The video will be produced either by National Geographic or another entity - they weren't sure yet. Yours in Butterflies,
To Save Endangered Butterfly, Become a Butterfly The last of the articles I have found on Vico Gutierrez landing in Mexico. Good article! http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/science/earth/08monarch.html Fran |
Dario Lopez-Mills/AP Photo
Dario Lopez-Mills/AP Photo