'Monarch Butterfly One Step Closer to Endangered Species Listing. What Does It Mean, and What Happens Next?,' WTTW Chicago

December 12, 2024

WTTW Chicago: On Tuesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that after years of deliberation, it was proposing to list the monarch butterfly as an endangered species.

Though a proposal, to be clear, isn't the same as a final listing, the news was cheered by supporters of the endangered status, including the Center for Biological Diversity, which was among a coalition of organizations that sued Fish and Wildlife to make a decision about the butterfly's status.

"Today's monarch listing decision is a landmark victory 10 years in the making. It is also a damning precedent, revealing the driving role of pesticides and industrial agriculture in the ongoing extinction crisis," George Kimbrell, legal director at the Center for Food Safety, said in a statement. "But the job isn't done: Monarchs still face an onslaught of pesticides. The (Fish and Wildlife) Service must do what science and the law require and promptly finalize protection for monarchs."

Why is the monarch being proposed for an endangered listing?

There are two monarch populations in North America: a western population largely centered in California, and an eastern migratory population that moves between Canada and Mexico.

Both populations have declined precipitously in recent decades: the eastern by an estimated 80% and the western by as much as 95%.

The Fish and Wildlife Service put the chance of extinction at 99% for the western population by 2080; the eastern population was given a 56% to 74% chance of extinction in the same time period.

Threats include loss of habitat at all of the monarch's life stages - breeding, migratory and overwintering. Insecticides and climate change are also responsible for declines.

So now what?

It may have taken 10 years to get Fish and Wildlife to propose the listing, but the process will speed up from here.

From Dec. 12 to March 12, Fish and Wildlife will accept public comments on its proposal. Starting Dec. 12, information about how to submit comments will be found on regulations.gov by searching for docket number FWS-R3-ES-2024-0137.

"Over the rest of the year, we'll analyze these comments and issue a final decision," agency officials said.

Why are there concerns about listing the monarch?

Though most, but not all, scientists agree that the monarch's numbers have fallen dramatically, the expansive nature of the butterfly's migration poses a conservation challenge: It's found almost everywhere, including people's backyards.

That ubiquity (which has been one of the arguments against an endangered listing) raises questions about recovery efforts and enforcement of regulations.

If a person finds a dead monarch on the grill of their car, are they subject to some sort of fine for killing an endangered species? Will farmers or departments of transportation be penalized if they mow down milkweed in their fields or roadsides? Will captive rearing of monarchs become illegal?

These are some of the actual scenarios Fish and Wildlife has already considered in its listing proposal (the answers are no, no, and no for numbers under 250). But there is likely to be much haggling over the use of insecticides, as well as the designation of "critical habitat" at overwintering grounds in California.

How can I help the monarch?

Fish and Wildlife is encouraging everyone to participate in the monarch's recovery.

The No. 1 way to stabilize populations is to significantly increase the "availability of milkweed and nectar plants in monarch breeding and migratory areas," the agency said.

Researchers at Chicago's Field Museum have shown that every milkweed stem counts, even those planted on high-rise balconies.

"Working together, we can help make this extraordinary species a legacy for our children and generations to come," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams said in a statement.

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