Will The Butterflies Return? | Environment

As "Butterfly Town USA," gears up for the return of the black and orange monarchs next month, a community is left to wonder how many of the insects will actually show up.

A pruning job last year on the butterfly sanctuary left the monarchs without a home. A devastating result that left the City of Pacific Grove apologizing to its residents and visitors. City officials said they should have better coordinated the tree trimming plan.

Last week, dozens of volunteers, like Robert Pacelli, organized a recovery effort at the monarch grove sanctuary. They picked up shovels and dirt and started planting, hoping to save the beautiful creatures. Pacelli said the sanctuary went from seeing thousands of butterflies on a yearly basis to just down to ten.

"And it was a combination of things, and this is where the big debate started within Pacific Grove. They came and couldn't hold on," said Pacelli.

Pacelli said it is costing about 10 thousand dollars to fix up the sanctuary. Out of towners like Rose Wong couldn't believe what happened and actually made the trip to see for herself.

"You would think they'd have knowledgable people who knew what they were doing," said Wong. "I don't know, I don't understand that at all."

The tree trimming incident is drawing national attention.

"An L.A. Times article was real interesting and from there we heard rumors from Oprah and a few other people," said Pacelli.

Now people locally and across the U.S. are hoping for a miracle.

"I have a trip planned for December, so I'm hoping that in December we'll be able to see some Butterflies," said one visitor to Pacific Grove.

And hopefully keep the name "Butterfly town USA" alive.