The number of monarch butterflies spending winter in the western U.S. dropped dramatically this year, despite moves to extend protections for the insect.

The number of monarch butterflies spending the winter in the western United States has dropped to its second-lowest mark in nearly three decades as pesticides, diminishing

Thogmartin and other researchers have evaluated more than 200 scenarios for restoring greater than 1.3 billion stems of milkweed to rebuild their population. Without substantial participation from agriculture, efforts are not enough to restore their numbers because farm lands make up 77 percent of all potential habitat.

The Western population of the monarch butterfly has declined to a near-record low with fewer than 10,000 found living in California this winter, a foreboding sign for the future of the beloved black-and-orange insect.

This year the organization counted 9,119 monarchs, the second-lowest total since tracking began in 1997. The organization has recorded more than 200,000 monarchs in each of the last three years.