Butterfly Town, USA - The People

Butterfly Town USA Monarch by Kim Thompson


	Bob Pacelli “The Monarchs... they’re this incredible gift, but we really have a responsibility because they come here, to Pacific Grove.” Bob Pacelli is a videographer and active supporter of the Monarch Grove Sanctuary in Pacific Grove. His work has been featured at museums throughout the world, including San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Laguna Gloria Museum at Austin, Texas and more. Awards include Barcelona International Film Festival (First Prize, 1983), the Cine Eagle (USA), Lilles International Film Festival (France), the Hiroshima Film Festival, San Francisco Chronicle and Art Weekly. He worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, Switzerland to promote UNHCR's work and publicize the plight of the refugees worldwide with the use of the television media.
	Frances Grate “We had a crisis here in 2009, in the sanctuary, when there was heavy, heavy pruning of some of the eucalyptus trees on the south border.” Frances Grate is a Beautification and Natural Resources Commissioner and Master Gardener.
	Barb Thomas “It’s extremely difficult for someone, especially Bob, who's been watching the movement of butterflies for years, to watch what’s happened at this sanctuary. From listening to what scientists have said, he was truly trying to follow what we were supposed to be doing.” Barb Thomas is a Beautification and Natural Resources Commissioner.
	Pat Herrgott “Since the city has owned this butterfly grove sanctuary, they have neglected it, they have dug it up. Two or three years ago, the city hired an arborist who decided to cut over there, where the monarchs first come when they come to the grove in October. It’s a tragedy.” Pat Herrgott is a former Sanctuary Docent.
	Sally Herrgott “When I visited the Monarch grove recently, I was very shocked to see the trees and the way they were cut this year. The wind blowing through the sanctuary may be what keeps the monarchs away.” Sally Herrgott is a former Sanctuary Docent.
	Kim Worrell “I like to think about what the trees will eventually look like in the future, long after I’m gone. I just hope they are still here for future generations to see.” Kim Worrell is a Monarch Sanctuary Volunteer, sea life photographer and Bay Net docent.
	Heidi Trinkle “The struggles he's had with the City - it's like they don't understand the concept that if you don't maintain an environment, all those butterflies over their public buildings and all over everybody's mailboxes - it's not going to mean anything. Pacific Grove isn't going to be a grove anymore - it's going to be a desert." Heidi Trinkle is a Monarch Sanctuary Volunteer and member of Veterans for Peace
	Scott Trinkle “When the City tells him that he can't do things because of bureaucracy, when it's the right thing that needs to be done, he's going to see it gets done. And I love that. He just wants to cause a little bit of trouble, but for all the right reasons.” Scott Trinkle is a Monarch Sanctuary Volunteer and member of Veterans for Peace
	Bill Kampe “One of the dilemmas for anyone who operates with the public interest in mind - and the public process - is to recognize that we're dealing with public money and public energy and there's a process for that.” Bill Kampe has been Mayor of Pacific Grove since December 2012. He is also the Director at the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.
	Mike Zimmer “We know we don't have the resources as a city, both financially or for the staff both to go in and get the work done in order for this sanctuary to thrive. So we rely on our friends and neighbors in the sanctuary. ” Mike Zimmer is the former Director of Public Works and community development in Pacific Grove.
	Moe Ammar “Bob opened our eyes and by showing up at various City related meetings and Chamber meetings and, to a large extent, he was a wake up call to the City of Pacific Grove — 'Hey! You have a problem and that problem needs to be taken care of.'” Moe Ammar has been the President of the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce for the last 20 years. He was given Pacific Grove’s key to the city in 2000, making him the only living member of the city to receive the key in the last 35 years.
	Lincoln Brower “The monarch migration is absolutely unique in the whole animal kingdom. And this migration of so many individuals from such a huge area, is being threatened by habitat loss.” Dr. Brower has studied monarchs and their overwintering sites for over 50 years. He is a Research Professor at Sweet Briar College and a Service Professor of Zoology Emeritus at the University of Florida.
	Kingston Leong “With Bob Pacelli and the idea of bringing in potted plants into a grove where you can move them to wind gap areas within a grove that have few lower branches, and, in turn, buffer the winds as they approach the grove, he actually is recreating the conditions destroyed when it was heavily pruned.” Kingston Leong is a retired CAL Poly biology professor. He has established three monarch groves in San Luis Obispo County; the sanctuaries are in Los Osos, Morro Bay, and Nipomo.
	Stuart Weiss “Bob's right. It's not a museum piece; it s a living thing. It s a living forest but, it's under our management. When you plant trees too close together, it’s going to create a very, very dense thicket that won’t let in enough light for the Monarchs. You really don't want to crowd your forest.” Dr. Weiss received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1996. He has written over 25 scientific publications and technical reports. He has studied endangered butterflies and plants in the Bay Area for over 30 years.
	Khenpo Karten Rinpoche “For all living beings, a place of habitat is important. A butterfly makes its home where there are trees and its favorite grasses.” Khenpo Karten Rinpoche was trained in the Kagyu and Nyingma schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He has teaching centers located in Kathmandu, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia-Ipoh, South India, and Carmel.
	Louise Ramirez *“It doesn't end because we've already done the blessing; it's still part of our homeland, and we have to keep on showing people that we know* that it is our homeland.”** Louise Ramirez is the Tribal Chairwoman of the Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation and has been performing annual blessings in the Monarch Sanctuary since 2010.