Is the stunning monarch butterfly endangered? New proposal could change its status.
SAN FRANCISCO – Each year, millions of majestic orange and black monarch butterflies make an extreme, multi-generational 3,000 mile migration across the United States, flocking to wintering grounds in California and Mexico. Beloved by children, the iconic species is instantly recognizable and found almost entirely in North America.
The fluttering insects could also be gone by the time today's grade-schoolers are grandparents.
Under current conditions, the butterflies are estimated to have a 99% chance of going extinct in the western part of the United States by 2080 and somewhere between a 56 and 74% chance of extinction in the east, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Which is why Fish & Wildlife has proposed listing the iconic insects as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
(Endangered species are considered close to extinction and get significant protection, while threatened species are considered on their way to being endangered – but aren't there yet. The threatened designation gives the government more leeway when working to protect a species.)
“Despite its fragility, it is remarkably resilient, like many things in nature when we just give them a chance,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams.
The designation could help conservationists protect habitat critical to the brightly-colored butterflies' survival.
In a press release issued by the service, wildlife officials said public input is being sought until March 12, at which point the Fish and Wildlife Service will make a final decision about listing the species as threatened.
The final decision will be in the hands of the incoming Trump Administration. In 2020, during the first Trump administration, the Fish and Wildlife Service found that monarchs were threatened with extinction but did not list them because other species were more high-priority.
If you love monarchs, plant milkweed
One reason monarchs have struggled is that their primary food source, milkweed plants, is disappearing. Milkweed once commonly grew in rural areas across the nation but new herbicides, development and overall loss of habitat have significantly decreased the food source for the caterpillars that become monarchs.
One thing Americans who love monarchs can do is plant milkweed, said experts. It's the only plant that monarchs will lay their eggs on and is an important part of their diet.
“This science-based decision is a national call to action for all Americans to save this majestic species by joining forces to plant native milkweed and nectar plants all across the nation – our yards, schools, parks, rights-of-way, businesses, places of worship, working lands, and so much more,” Collin O’Mara, president and CEO, National Wildlife Federation, said in the Fish and Wildlife release.
The pretty plant, which sports pink, purple or orange flowers, gets its name from the milky sap inside the stems and leaves.
Despite its name, milkweed is not a weed but a wildflower, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, has a wide native range in the United States. There are also many regional species that grow well in every part of the country, according to Monarch Joint Venture, a partnership of federal and state agencies and others who are working to protect the monarch migration.
Expert says designation could help 'steady and concerning' population decline
Designating of the migratory monarch butterfly as threatened would allow for further conservation efforts to prevent their extinction.
Dr. Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón, monarch recovery strategist and director of climate-resilient habitats for the National Wildlife Federation said the designation would allow for further conservation efforts.
“This determination will give new life to our conservation efforts and affirms what the science community has documented for almost three decades, a steady and concerning decline of the species’ populations,” she said in an NWF release.
Although the butterfly has not been added to the threatened wildlife list, the service said people can help with their conservation.
“Everyone can play a role in saving the monarch butterfly. Because of the species’ general habitat use and wide distribution, all sectors of society have an opportunity to participate in a broad range of conservation efforts throughout the butterfly’s range,” the service said.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for Paste BN. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.