Who: Dr. Lincoln Brower, WWF senior fellow and Sweet Briar College professor; world authority on monarch butterfly biology
Carlos Galindo Leal, forests program director, WWF-Mexico
Francisco "Vico" Gutierrez, lead pilot and director of the Papalotzin project
Where: D.C. Parks & Recreation's Francis Field, 25th Street between M and N Sts. NW, Washington (Metered parking is available on N St. and free parking is available in WWF's parking garage, 1250 24th St.)
When: Thursday, Sept. 15, 10-11 a.m.
In a historic transcontinental flight, a crew piloting an ultralight plane is following and filming the annual migration this year of North America's monarch butterflies. The motorized hang glider painted like a monarch butterfly will stop in Washington from Sept. 14-19. This will be the plane's final East Coast stop.
During the trip, a team is filming a documentary about the life, flight and challenges facing the monarch butterfly. The monarch is the only insect that migrates and its annual journey has been declared "an endangered migratory phenomenon." The ultralight plane left Canada in late August, along with the monarchs, and will arrive at the butterflies' Mexican wintering grounds in November.
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Contact: Jan Vertefeuille
janv@wwfus.org
202-861-8362
World Wildlife Fund
7-Sep-2005