There Once Were Millions

The Dolphin Gallery will open a new exhibition on Saturday, May 2, with a reception from 1 to 3 p.m. spotlighting the dramatic decline of one of California’s most iconic species: the Western monarch butterfly. There Once Were Millions, a photographic exhibition by documentary photographer Elizabeth Weber, will be on view through May 31.

Weber, an independent photographer known for her work on ecological issues, has spent years documenting both environmental degradation and the efforts of communities working toward restoration. Her collaborations with poets, conservationists, and nonprofits reflect her belief that art can be part of environmental solutions, not just a record of loss.

Her traveling exhibition follows the monarchs’ migratory path along the West Coast and has appeared at institutions across California, including the Bolinas Museum, Point Reyes National Seashore Visitor Center, the Marin County Fair, the California Nature Arts Museum in Solvang, and the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. A separate body of her work on plastic marine debris is currently on display at the Hawai‘i Wildlife Discovery Center on Maui.

A Personal History with a Vanishing Species

Growing up on the California coast in the 1970s and ’80s, Weber remembers the annual arrival of thousands of monarchs clustering in eucalyptus groves. Those childhood memories stand in stark contrast to today’s reality: Western monarchs have suffered a 95 percent population decline since the 1980s, a drop attributed to habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change.

Weber’s exhibition blends documentary photography with experimental processes. She prints black‑and‑white images on vellum and applies gold leaf, creating a luminous, fragile surface that mirrors the precarious state of the butterflies themselves. By stripping away their familiar orange coloring, Weber invites viewers to see the monarchs differently—and to consider what it would mean to lose them entirely.

A Call to Action Through Art

Once There Were Millions is both a tribute and a warning. Through memory, artistry, and environmental testimony, Weber asks viewers to reflect on the monarch’s uncertain future and the choices that will determine whether the species recovers or disappears.

The Dolphin Gallery exhibition offers Mendocino and Sonoma coast audiences a rare chance to experience this widely traveled body of work and to engage with one of the region’s most urgent ecological stories.