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Save Monarchs from Extinction
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Populations of both Eastern and Western monarch butterflies have been decreasing in recent years, leading environmentalists to clamor for an “endangered” classification for the species. Declining monarch populations are symptomatic of the ongoing insect apocalypse, which threatens worldwide ecology and agriculture—and exemplifies the failure of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including the Office of Pesticide Programs, to regulate with a holistic lens that protects biodiversity.
Although many factors are involved in the devastation of insect populations, scientific studies show that pesticide use ranks high, led by the use of seeds coated with neonicotinoid insecticides. Other pesticide impacts include mortality from insecticide drift and the destruction of milkweed by herbicides. These impacts are exacerbated by climate change, which is made worse by the production and use of petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers.
Monarch butterflies serve as an indicator of the status of insect pollinators and their habitats. Because so many people have been involved in monitoring their populations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has responded to the call to protect them by proposing to list monarchs as a threatened species and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Plants or animals can be listed as either “threatened” or “endangered.” When a species is listed, it can help provide resources and even legal action to protect them. FWS explains the terms: an endangered species is a plant or animal species “that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range,” and a threatened species is one “that is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.”
In 2022, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified the monarch butterfly as endangered and updated the classification to vulnerable a year later. Although the IUCN listing has no legal weight in the United States, it calls attention to the plight of the butterfly, which according to IUCN 2022 estimates, showed that the eastern population of migratory monarchs declined by as much as 84 percent between 1996 and 2014 and the western migratory monarch's population dropped from around 10 million insects in the 1980s to 1,914 in 2021—a loss of about 99.9 percent.
The proposed listing will provide increased federal protection and resources for monarch conservation, in the form of protection from harm, a comprehensive recovery plan, and ongoing funding to restore their habitat. ESA prohibits the “take” of a single individual of a listed species. “Take” is defined in ESA as “to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect or attempt to engage in any such conduct.” The likely “take,” which includes unintentional harm or death, of even one individual of a listed species, is enough to constitute a "may affect" determination under EPA's policy and trigger the need for formal consultation with FWS. Hence, the proposed designation has the potential to prohibit pesticide use that harms not only monarchs but other pollinators as well.
>> Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to finalize its proposed listing of monarchs as threatened.
The target for this Action is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, via comments through Regulations.gov.
Thank you for your active participation! The Action is a multi-step process, so please click submit below to proceed to step two, where you will be able to personalize comments before final submission. The comment maximum limit is 4,000 characters, so it may be necessary to delete some of our prepared message text if editing.
Suggested comments to FWS:
I am very concerned about the impact of pesticide use on biodiversity—particularly in promoting the “insect apocalypse.” Populations of both Eastern and Western monarch butterflies have been decreasing in recent years, leading many to want an “endangered” classification for the species. Declining monarch populations are symptomatic of the ongoing insect apocalypse, which threatens worldwide ecology and agriculture. Although many factors are involved in the devastation of insect populations, scientific studies show that pesticide use ranks high, led by seeds coated with neonicotinoid insecticides. Other pesticide impacts include mortality from insecticide drift and the destruction of milkweed by herbicides. These impacts are exacerbated by climate change.
Monarch butterflies serve as an indicator of the status of insect pollinators and their habitats. I am happy to see the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) propose to protect them by listing monarchs as a threatened species and designating critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Plants or animals can be listed as either “threatened” or “endangered”. FWS explains the terms: an endangered species is a plant or animal species “that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range,” and a threatened species is one “that is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.” While it can be argued that monarchs should be listed as endangered, either listing will provide needed protection.
In 2022, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified the monarch butterfly as endangered and updated the classification to vulnerable a year later. Although the IUCN listing has no legal weight in the United States, it calls attention to the plight of the butterfly, which according to IUCN 2022 estimates, showed that the eastern population of migratory monarchs declined by as much as 84 percent between 1996 and 2014 and the western migratory monarch’s population dropped from around 10 million insects in the 1980s to 1,914 in 2021—a loss of about 99.9 percent.
FWS’s proposed listing will provide increased federal protection and resources for monarch conservation, in the form of protection from harm and a comprehensive recovery plan and ongoing funding to restore their habitat. ESA prohibits the “take” of a single individual of a listed species. “Take” is defined in ESA as “to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect or attempt to engage in any such conduct.” The likely “take,” which includes unintentional harm or death, of even one individual of a listed species, is enough to constitute a "may affect" determination under EPA’s policy and trigger the need for formal consultation with FWS. Hence, the proposed designation has the potential to prohibit pesticide use that harms not only monarchs but other pollinators as well.
Please finalize the listing of monarch butterflies as threatened.
Thank you.