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--></style></head><body lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal">On Sunday, October 4, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 559 into Law, which grants the California Department of Fish and Wildlife the authority to work on monarch butterflies. The Xerces Society provided information to Assemblywoman Lopez' office at multiple stages in this process of developing this bill and worked with the California Native Plant Society and other organizations to support its passage. Assemblywoman Lopez' press release can be read at <a href="http://asmdc.org/members/a39/news-room/press-releases/monarch-butterflies-to-be-conserved-in-california">http://asmdc.org/members/a39/news-room/press-releases/monarch-butterflies-to-be-conserved-in-california</a>. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The significant thing about this bill is that it clarifies that the California state agency charged with wildlife conservation should, in fact, be working on the conservation of monarch butterflies. This may not seem a big step, but until now, because of the way that the California state endangered species act was written with respect to invertebrates, it has been unclear whether or not California Department of Fish and Wildlife actually had the authority to work on monarchs. Now they, which allows the department to invest resources and staff time on monarch conservation.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Matthew</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">________</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Matthew Shepherd</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt">, Communications Director</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt">The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation </span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Protecting the Life that Sustains Us</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Stay in touch: </span><b><span style="color:#00b0f0"><a href="http://www.xerces.org/"><span style="color:#00b0f0">xerces.org</span></a></span></b> <b><u><span style="color:#00b050"><a href="http://www.xerces.org/blog/"><span style="color:#00b050">Xerces blog</span></a></span></u></b> <b><span style="color:#984806"><a href="http://www.xerces.org/enewsletters/"><span style="color:#984806">E-newsletter</span></a></span></b> <b><span style="color:#17365d"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Xerces-Society/193182577358618"><span style="color:#17365d">Facebook</span></a></span></b> <b><span style="color:#0070c0"><a href="https://twitter.com/xerces_society"><span style="color:blue">Twitter</span></a></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">628 NE Broadway, Ste 200, Portland, OR 97232-1324, USA</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Tel: (503) 232-6639 ext. 110; Toll free: 1-855-232 6639 ext. 110; Cell: (503) 807-1577</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#0070c0"><a href="mailto:mdshepherd@xerces.org"><span style="color:#0070c0">mdshepherd@xerces.org</span></a> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. To join the Society, make a donation, or read about our work, please visit <span style="color:#0070c0"><a href="http://www.xerces.org/"><span style="color:#0070c0">www.xerces.org</span></a></span>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></body></html>