Today, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced their decision on whether to give monarchs protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). After careful consideration, they have determined that monarchs are threatened: they are likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future through a significant portion of their range. This follows a decade-long process that is summarized here by the Monarch Joint Venture. The original petition that started this process was submitted by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Center for Food Safety, and the late Dr. Lincoln Brower, a long-time monarch researcher and MBF Board Member.
It is important to note the process is not complete; as with any ESA decision, there will be a public comment period of about 60 days, followed by a review of the 4(d) rule by the USFWS. The 4(d) rule will lay out protective regulations that should be followed to conserve monarchs. We will provide future updates on the proposed 4(d) regulations. To see what the USFWS has proposed, click here.
We at the Monarch Butterfly Fund support the USFWS in this decision. Following a significant decline of monarch numbers across their migratory cycle, multiple scientific analyses have shown that populations are not at a safe level that buffers them against the kind of catastrophic events that have occurred in the past. These events include extreme weather conditions that result in mortality of a large portion of the population.
The ESA is a powerful tool for preventing extinction. It results in legal protection and resources to support conservation work in the United States that wouldn’t otherwise happen and has been credited for preventing extinction for 99% of the species that have been listed. For monarchs, this decision will protect monarch wintering habitat in coastal California, allow federal agencies to consider monarchs when making land management decisions, and support monarch habitat nationwide.
The voluntary efforts that we are collectively carrying out are important and are probably the reason that monarchs are not doing worse than they are. Despite ongoing habitat loss and threats from weather and pesticides, monarch numbers have been relatively stable for the past decade. While there is a great deal of year-to-year variation, there has not been a clear downward trend.
The ESA gives the USFWS flexibility to create a 4(d) rule that will work for the public, including farmers and landowners, and for monarchs. It could include incentives for conservation practices as well as exceptions for activities that lead to habitat loss as long as they are balanced with conservation actions. People will still be able to handle, study, and raise monarchs on a small scale, although it is likely that large-scale and commercial rearing will be prevented, since this level of rearing raises risks for monarchs.
The Monarch Butterfly Fund will continue to fund direct conservation action in Mexico, and to a lesser extent in the US, and to support research that ensures that our conservation efforts are wisely directed. While the ESA only applies to conservation within the US, actions that we take in this country have a direct impact on the number of monarchs that migrate to Mexico each year. Monarchs already have legal protection in Canada (under the Species at Risk Act) and Mexico (where they are a species of special protection, and where their wintering habitat in the states of Michoacan and Mexico are specifically protected).
Thank you for your support of our work!