Monarch butterfly

Every fall, Great Smoky Mountains National Park plays host to what might best be described as a moving miracle.

“Day of the Dead also coincides with the return of monarchs, so for the Mazahua people and other Indigenous groups in Mexico, it represents the return of the souls of their ancestors. Still, conservationists and Indigenous communities in Mexico have made significant progress within the last decade in the effort to protect key habitats, especially in the state of Michoacán. So many different species can be found in Great Smoky Mountains National Park thanks to its wide range of protected habitats — from wetlands to forests — and both high and low elevations, which helps to extend the flowering season for certain key food sources. “The goal isn’t just to tag as many monarchs as possible; it’s more about getting people participating in science and connecting to a place — learning more about these species so we can understand and protect them.” “Monarchs are not endangered, but what is threatened is their culture of migrating from Mexico to Canada back,” says Canter. The diversity and colors and behaviors are really astounding,” says Canter. “Many, many people have worked on this project since it started in the 1990s,” explains Erin Canter, the manager of science literacy and research at Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont (GSMIT), a nonprofit organization specializing in experiential outdoor education. Filing out of their vehicles, the groups prepare themselves with binoculars, spreadsheets, tags, and field guides at the ready. Tagging monarchs is part of long-running international campaign to help scientists track the intrepid butterflies. These remarkable butterflies may go unnoticed as they travel in the margins along roadways and across acres of farmland, but during their time in the Smokies, they’re greeted by an attentive audience. After their pit stop, the butterflies resume their long journey south to the warmer climes of Florida and Mexico, where eastern monarch populations overwinter. [Great Smoky Mountains National Park](https://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm) plays host to what might best be described as a moving miracle.