Monarch butterflies denied federal protection as California population plunges
As monarch butterfly populations across California plummet, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday that the insect species will have to wait for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Adding monarch butterflies to the list of threatened and endangered species is “warranted but precluded by work on higher-priority listing actions,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wrote in a Tuesday news release regarding the decision.
Monarchs are still a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act, and the species’ status will be reviewed every year until it either is granted or denied protection, according to Fish and Wildlife officials.
The monarch butterfly was first proposed for Endangered Species Act protection in 2014 through a petition submitted by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Protection, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Center for Food Safety and others.
Conservation groups expressed disappointment Tuesday that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service denied federal protection for monarch butterflies.
“Protection for monarchs is needed — and warranted — now,” George Kimbrell, legal director at the Center for Food Safety, said in a news release sent out by the Center for Biological Diversity. “In acknowledging that listing is needed, but still avoiding that decision, the Trump administration has placed Monsanto profits above monarchs. The Biden administration must follow the law and science and protect them.”
Monarch butterfly populations decrease in California
Tuesday’s announcement comes as preliminary counts of western monarch butterfly populations in California show a drastic decline. The annual count is organized by the Xerces Society.
At the Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove, one of California’s paramount overwintering site for western monarch butterflies, volunteers with the Xerces Society spotted about 200 butterflies between Nov. 14 and Dec. 6, according to the nonprofit organization. That’s compared to about 6,700 butterflies counted in 2019, and about 28,000 in 2015.
Volunteers counted fewer than 2,000 monarchs total in California, down from nearly 30,000 last year.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has estimated that there is a 96% to 100% probability that the western monarch population will collapse within 50 years, and and 80% probability for the species’ eastern population.
Eastern monarch butterflies, which reside on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, have faced a population decline of about 70% since the early 1990s, while the western population has seen its population decline by about 99% since the 1990s.
“Forty-seven species have gone extinct waiting for their (Endangered Species Act) protection to be finalized. This decision continues the delay in implementing a national recovery plan, which monarchs desperately need,” Tierra Curry, Center for Biological Diversity senior scientist, said in Tuesday’s release. “Monarchs are beautiful, they play important roles in nature and culture, and their migrations are jaw-dropping. We owe them and future generations an all-in commitment to their recovery.”
Loss of milkweed and other flowering plants across monarch butterflies’ habitat range, as well as wildfires, climate change, the widespread use of pesticides and the degradation and loss of overwintering groves in coastal California and Mexico have contributed all to the decline of the monarch population, according to the Xerces Society.
“The Xerces Society will continue to work hand-in-hand with farmers and ranchers to find practical solutions to restore and manage pollinator habitat on working landscapes,” the organization wrote in a news release. “We also work with managers of roadsides, energy infrastructure, forests and grasslands, as well as community scientists and enthusiasts, other nonprofits and researchers to magnify each individual’s efforts.”
How you can help save the monarch butterfly
There are several things people can do to help protect monarch butterflies, according to the Xerces Society.
The nonprofit organization suggests the following:
- Adopt an overwintering site and become an advocate for the site’s protection and management.
- Plant native California flowers that bloom in the early spring (February through April) to provide critical food for the monarchs.
- Plant native milkweed including woollypod, California, heartleaf, narrowleaf and showy milkweed plants.
- Seek out non-chemical options to prevent and manage pests in your garden and landscaping. Pesticides, herbicides and insecticides can all kill monarch butterflies.
- Report all monarch adult, catepillar, egg, nectaring and milkweed sightings to the Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper.
- Use the hashtag #SaveWesternMonarchs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to raise awareness, and add a Save Western Monarchs frame to your Facebook profile picture.
For details, go to xerces.org/western-monarch-call-to-action.
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Monarch butterflies denied federal protection as California population plunges."
