TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The federal government shutdown forced the cancellation of this weekend’s Monarch Festival at St. Marks Wildlife Refuge, but no one told the monarchs.
They stop here each year in late October and early November as they migrate south.
Monarchs cover the saltbushes near the St. Marks Lighthouse.(WCTV)
Right now, thousands of monarchs are feasting on the nectar of saltbush and goldenrod in the shadow of the St. Marks Lighthouse.
“While they’re here, they’re really busy nectaring,” Sally Jue said as she watched the monarchs through her binoculars. “The adult monarchs aren’t particular. Whatever flowers have good nectar, they’ll stop and get food and then once they’ve replenished their nutrition, they can continue on their journey.”
Monarchs cover saltbushes near the St. Marks Lighthouse.(WCTV)
Dean and Sally Jue study butterflies and have for decades. The retired FSU scientists have even written a book about them called Finding Butterflies in Florida’s Big Bend Region.
It’s not just the monarch’s beauty, they say, that captivates people. It’s the incredible journey they make each year from Canada to Mexico.
“It’s over 3,000 miles,” Dean Jue said. “The fact that it’s a little insect as opposed to a bird or something like that is what makes it so fascinating.”
Retired scientists Dean and Sally Jue have been studying monarchs and other butterflies for decades.(WCTV)
This year, the government shutdown forced the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge to cancel its popular Monarch Festival, which usually draws thousands of people.
Cara Fleischer attends the festival every year.
“We’ve been going for decades. It’s something we do with my mom and my little niece,” Fleischer said.
“I was so sad,” Fleischer said when she heard the festival was canceled. “It was already on our calendar. We had set aside time to go and, you know, I think we’re probably still going to go because the butterflies are still going to be there.”
Monarchs are covering saltbush and goldenrod in the shadow of the St. Marks Lighthouse.(WCTV)
Friday morning, nature lovers were flocking to the refuge just to get a glimpse and snap a picture of the majestic monarchs.
“Gorgeous. Absolutely wonderful,” one woman said as she took photos through a telephoto lens.
Sharon Brock came to see the monarchs too and reminisced about Monarch Festivals with her family in years gone by.
“Oh, we’ve seen the bushes full of monarchs,” she said.
Sharon Brock sported a homemade monarch hat as she stopped by to see the butterflies Friday.(WCTV)
Brock wore a homemade hat covered in fake monarch butterflies. The back of her hat says it all, ‘Mexico or bust.’
The monarchs will stay in St. Marks for a week, maybe two, resting up and fattening up for the next 1,500 mile trek south of the border.
The Jues say new technology is helping scientists discover more about monarch migration.
Scientists are now able to outfit the butterflies with tiny solar powered radio tags, they said, that allow people to record and track their movements with an app on their phone. It’s an app called Project Monarch.
“Some of them are undoubtedly going down to Mexico but there’s also a chance that some of the are actually going down into the Florida peninsula. That’s some of the active monarch research that’s going on right now,” Dean Jue said.
The St. Marks Wildlife Refuge is still accessible to nature lovers during the government shutdown, but the visitors center is closed and volunteers are helping to take out the trash.
The St. Marks Wildlife Refuge is still accessible to nature lovers, but the visitor center is closed.(WCTV)
A sign on the gate says “During the government shutdown, national wildlife refuges will remain as accessible as possible. We are doing our best to take care of your refuges during the shutdown, but some of the amenities and services may not be available during this time.”
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