The following words of praise for Monarch Watch 2000 in Central Park have been sent by Dr. Robert Michael Pyle, one of the world's most distinguished authorities on Monarch Butterflies and a leading conservationist.  "Bob" as he is affectionately known by thousands of lepidopterists worldwide is author of "Chasing Monarchs" (Houghton Mifflin, 1999)  a "Top-Ten" book in Nature and Science at Barnes and Noble last year.  Dr. Pyle received his PhD degree from Yale University and is co-founder of the Xerces Society, the first and oldest conservation organization founded for the protection of invertebrate animals worldwide.  Xerces takes it name from the Xerces Blue Butterfly, the first butterfly declared "extinct" due to habitat destruction in the United States.  Dr. Pyle also received the prestigious Newberry Medal for nature writing in 1985. 

               
"Greetings to all of you who care enough about Monarch Butterflies to gather
here today.  I applaud the New York Parks Department, Monarch Watch, and all
concerned for their efforts to plant milkweed, bring Monarchs into the
magical fold of Central Park, and grace them for their onward journey with a
small tag that may generate abundant knowledge.  While the regrettable trend
of scattering monarchs hither and yon at weddings and other events has only
muddied our ability to study their true movements, this enlightened event
can only help -- help our understanding, help our community devotion to
saving this great and endangered phenomenon, help the Monarchs themselves.

"When I followed the Monarch migration throughout one recent Western autumn,
I came to understand that this is a far more subtle, complex, and impressive
creature than I had even guessed before.  By subordinating my own will to
the migratory imperative of the Monarchs themselves, I learned something of
their extraordinary bond with the land, the waters, the plants, and the very
stuff of the earth.  And by immersing myself in the Mexican and Californian
winter masses many times, I have felt the overwhelming power and
magnificence of the migratory Monarchs -- truly a crowning achievement of
insect evolution.

"In 1976, shortly after the Mexican sites came to light, the North American
migratory Monarchs were declared the top priority in world butterfly
conservation.  That judgment has not changed, and has become much more
urgent with recent disclosures of forest loss and chemical and genetic
threats.  This animal is truly the Monarch of the Americas, with an enormous
potential to link Canadian, American, and Mexican conservation action.  Let
us send off these cinnamon sailors on their long sky voyage with all good
hopes and convictions that their sublime spectacle shall survive.

"The last time I visited the Shakespeare Garden in Central Park, a brilliant
male cardinal was in residence.  Today, I imagine his bright color eclipsed
by hundreds of brilliant wings.   I wish I could be there myself, but I will
celebrate the Equinox fully in mind of this great and hopeful event.  Long
may the Monarchs reign over the skies and milkweed meadows of North America!"

Robert Michael Pyle