[Pollinator] Much-Needed Federal Protection for America's Beloved Monarch Butterfly Warranted, but Precluded

Tue Dec 15 09:44:48 PST 2020

*For Immediate Release*

*Contacts: *

Sarina Jepsen, Director of Endangered Species, sarina.jepsen at xerces.org,
971-244-3727
Emma Pelton, Senior Conservation Biologist, emma.pelton at xerces.org,
971-533-7245

Scott Hoffman Black, Executive Director, scott.black at xerces.org,
503-449-3792

*Much-Needed Federal Protection for America’s Beloved Monarch Butterfly
Warranted, but Precluded*

PORTLAND, Ore.; Tuesday, December 15, 2020---Today, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service announced that listing the monarch butterfly under the
Endangered Species Act is warranted, but precluded by other priorities. The
monarch was proposed for listing in 2014 through a petition submitted by
the Xerces Society and our conservation partners, including Center for
Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, and the late Dr. Lincoln
Brower.

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agrees that monarchs are threatened
with extinction” said Sarina Jepsen, Director of Endangered Species at the
Xerces Society. “However, this decision does not yet provide the protection
that monarchs, and especially the western population, so desperately need
to recover.”

During the spring and summer, the monarch reaches towns, cities and rural
areas across the Lower 48, making it probably the country’s most widely
recognized butterfly. However, the sightings are not as common as they once
were. The eastern migratory population has declined by over 70% since the
early 1990s, when monitoring began. Meanwhile, we may be witnessing the
collapse of the western migratory population, which has declined by over
99.9%
<https://www.xerces.org/blog/monarch-population-in-california-spirals-to-another-record-low>
since the 1980s.

With over 95% of the data from the Xerces Society’s Western Monarch
Thanksgiving Count <https://www.westernmonarchcount.org/> in from
volunteers this year, the western population has hit an unprecedented low,
with a projected final count of less than 2,000 monarchs. This is a
significant decline from the record low numbers of the last two years,
where the total monarch population hovered just under 30,000 monarchs—and
far below the millions of monarchs that clustered in coastal California in
the 1980s.

The monarch faces many threats including the loss of milkweed and other
flowering plants across its range, degradation and loss of overwintering
groves in both coastal California and Mexico, and the widespread use of
pesticides in the environment. Many of these stressors are exacerbated by
the effects of climate change.

While we are glad that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recognized
that protecting monarchs under the ESA is warranted, this butterfly—and
especially the western population—cannot wait for protection. The monarch
butterfly should be granted protection as soon as possible.

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. 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.

###

USFWS announcement: https://www.fws.gov/savethemonarch/SSA.html

For more information about monarch conservation, visit
https://xerces.org/monarchs

Read the original petition:
https://xerces.org/publications/policy-statements/petition-for-esa-protection-monarchs

*About the Xerces Society*
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is a nonprofit
organization that protects the natural world by conserving invertebrates
and their habitat. Established in 1971, the Society is a trusted source for
science-based information and advice and plays a leading role in protecting
pollinators and many other invertebrates. Our team draws together experts
from the fields of habitat restoration, entomology, plant ecology,
education, pesticides, farming and conservation biology with a single
passion: Protecting the life that sustains us.
To learn more, visit <http://xerces.org/>xerces.org or follow us
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----------

Matthew Shepherd

Director of Communications & Outreach

*he/him/his*

[image: Email-Outlook_Xerces-logo-CMYK]

Protecting the Life That Sustains Us

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