Monarch Listing Highlights Need for ESA Reforms

This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced a proposal to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in response:

"Over the course of its 50-year run, the ESA has failed to achieve its basic goals of species recovery. The proposed listing of the monarch butterfly is more evidence of the desperate need for ESA reform. We must prioritize solutions that empower states and local landowners while maintaining healthy ecosystems across the country. That's why earlier this year I introduced the America's Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act, and the ESA Amendments Act to reform this outdated legislation and ensure the long-term health of America's abundant wildlife."

Background

The USFWS is proposing to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the ESA, with a 4(d) rule that grants certain exceptions from ESA take prohibitions. The historic range of the monarch butterfly includes the contiguous United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as Mexico and Canada. In 2020, the Service made the determination that a listing under the ESA was "warranted but precluded by higher priority actions."

Chairman Westerman and Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse R-Wash.) formed the bipartisan Endangered Species Act Working Group in July 2023 to collect stakeholder feedback and develop a long-term course of action to modernize the ESA. Throughout the course of a year, members met with stakeholders to discuss much-needed reforms to the ESA, including those related to monarchs. Through the thoughtful work of this group, the ESA Amendments Act of 2024 was introduced. This legislation will incentivize the recovery of listed species by promoting species conservation on private and public lands and giving states more regulatory opportunities to manage threatened species. The committee favorably reported this legislation on Sept. 19, 2024.

Additionally, Chairman Westerman introduced the America's Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act (AWHCA) in February 2024. The legislation proposes a series of policy reforms that are laser-focused on recovery. These include requiring the federal government to establish objective, incremental recovery goals for listed species. Once those goals are established, the legislation builds incentives by providing incremental relief from ESA regulations as recovery goals are met. Over time, this creates an off-ramp toward state management of at-risk and listed species after recovery goals are met and in preparation for the delisting of the species. Learn more about AWHCA here.