LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Fish and Wildlife officials want to protect one of the most recognizable insects in the world: the monarch butterfly.
The beautiful butterfly is in danger of becoming extinct, so conservation officials want to enact the Endangered Species Act to protect it.
Martha Williams, the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, called the monarch butterfly "remarkably resilient, like many things in nature when we just give them a chance."
“Science shows that the monarch needs that chance, and this proposed listing invites and builds on unprecedented public participation in shaping monarch conservation efforts," Williams said. "Providing monarchs with enough milkweed and nectar plants, even in small areas, can help put them on the road to recovery. Working together, we can help make this extraordinary species a legacy for our children and generations to come.”
Some of the threats officials identified monarch butterflies are facing include breeding degradation, overwintering habitat, insecticide exposure and climate change.
Fish and Wildlife officials said monarchs in North America are split into two long-distance migratory populations: the eastern and western migratory populations.
The eastern population overwinters in central Mexico, and the western population primarily overwinters in coastal California. There has been such a decrease in the western population that the chance of extinction is greater than 99% by 2080. The probability of extinction in the eastern population is 56% to 74% in that same time frame they said.
Part of their conservation proposal includes creating critical habitats across various California counties.
Anyone who wishes to comment on this proposal has 90 days to do so; the first day of comments will be Dec. 12, 2024. The comment period will end on March 12, 2025.
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