Iconic butterflies threatened by climate change to receive federal protection

Monarch butterflies are known for their remarkable resilience, with millions flying across thousands of miles each year from Canada to Mexico and California, where they spend their winters.

Now, US officials have announced a decision to extend federal protections to the species, which is threatened by human-caused climate change, loss of habitat, and exposure to insecticides.

"The iconic monarch butterfly is cherished across North America, captivating children and adults throughout its fascinating lifecycle. Despite its fragility, it is remarkably resilient, like many things in nature when we just give them a chance,” US Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams said in a statement.

"Providing monarchs with enough milkweed and nectar plants, even in small areas, can help put them on the road to recovery,” she continued. "Working together, we can help make this extraordinary species a legacy for our children and generations to come.”

The monarchs, which are currently not federally protected, would be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Nearly 4,400 acres of critical habitat is being proposed at sites in coastal California.

The butterflies’ population has declined by 90 percent in recent decades, with the latest count showing the second smallest population on record, according to the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity.

The organization said that, if the proposal from the Fish and Wildlife Service is finalized, monarchs will both gain protection and a recovery plan, including funding to restore their habitat.

"The fact that a butterfly as widespread and beloved as the monarch is now the face of the extinction crisis is a tri-national distress signal warning us to take better care of the environment that we all share,” Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the center, said in a statement. "What’s bad for monarchs is bad for humans, so we have to stop pretending that our health is somehow separate from that of the wildlife our activities are decimating.”

The center was one of multiple groups that petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service in 2014, seeking such protection. They were placed on the candidate waiting list for protection in 2020, and the center said the recent announcement was the result of a lawsuit that had been filed to get a date for a decision on the matter.

Public comments will be accepted on the proposal until mid-March. Then, the agency will evaluate them and any additional information. The agency has until December 2025 to publish the listing if it moves forward.

Found across North America, the unmistakable black and orange winged pollinators were listed as endangered in Canada last year. In Mexico, they are considered a species of special concern.

Right now the International Union for Conservation of Nature ranks them as vulnerable. The international conservation organization listed migratory monarchs as endangered in 2022.

The iconic butterflies, one of the most recognizable insects in the world, are declining because of warmer temperatures brought on by climate change.

This year is nearly certain to be the warmest year on record. Monarchs cannot survive the cold winters of northern climates; the cold-blooded insects need to spend the winter season in forests, where the temperatures are cold enough to slow their metabolism but not so cold that they freeze when they hibernate. They know when it’s time to fly south and ride air currents to make the trek. Once spring arrives, the "overwintering” monarchs are able to reproduce and migrate north of Mexico, laying eggs in the southern US.

As the planet warms, milkweed - the caterpillar’s sole food source - could shift toward the poles and force monarchs to migrate longer distances, according to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.

And, millions are killed in Texas during collisions with vehicles, according to Texas A&M University. Kills resulting from vehicle strikes would still be allowed under the proposed listing.

Landowners who need a federal license or permit for a project would have to work with the wildlife service to mitigate any damage.

While eastern monarchs, the largest groups that flock to Mexico, have between a 56 and 74 percent probability of extinction, the risk for western monarchs - that migrate to the California coast - is greater than 95 percent by 2080, according to a recent monarch Species Status Assessment.

"The monarch butterfly and its remarkable multi-generation migration are marvels of the natural world. 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, National Wildlife Federation president and CEO, said in a statement. "By working collaboratively, we will recover and safeguard this iconic species for future generations.”

The Independent