Monarch butterflies a big step closer to protection under Endangered Species Act

Nara Schoenberg, Chicago Tribune on Dec 11, 2024

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It’s a big day for insects.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday that it is proposing the monarch butterfly for threatened species status under the Endangered Species Act, a big step forward in a process set in motion in 2014 with a petition from conservationists.

After a 90-day public comment period, the agency will make a final decision.

“Despite its fragility, (the monarch) is remarkably resilient, like many things in nature when we just give them a chance,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams said in a written statement. “Science shows that the monarch needs that chance, and this proposed listing invites and builds on unprecedented public participation in shaping monarch conservation efforts.”

The eastern migratory population of monarchs, which flies through Illinois, is estimated to have declined by approximately 80% since the 1990s.

The western migratory population has declined by more than 95% since the 1980s, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife, which said the western populations have a greater than 99% chance of extinction by 2080.

With big orange wings veined in black, the monarch is still a fairly common sight in the Chicago area, a summer breeding ground and a stop on the annual fall migration to Mexico, which can span up to 3,000 miles.

Tuesday’s announcment is “a call to action,” said Karen Klinger, a geographic information systems analyst at the Field Museum and the lead author of a July study focusing on strategies to maximize monarchs’ success in small urban and suburban gardens.

“This species is endangered and people can do something to help. Every little bit of milkweed and other blooming flowers can make a difference for monarchs,” she said.

Milkweed is the only plant that monarch caterpillars can eat, and its decline is one of the most frequently cited threats to monarchs, along with more general habitat loss, exposure to insecticides and climate change.

Field Museum lead conservation ecologist Aster Hasle had been waiting for the announcement of the proposed threatened species status, checking every day.

“It’s a big deal,” said Hasle. “It brings us in line with both Canada and Mexico and the international organization, and I think it is in line with the data. This is a reflection of the reality.”

The announcement comes at a time when insects in general are increasingly viewed as imperiled, and Hasle said that listing the monarch as a threatened species will help a lot of other, lesser-known pollinators.

Klinger likened monarchs to pandas, in the sense that they are visually appealing and draw humans to conservation.

“We call them charistmatic microfauna,” Hasle said of monarchs.

With the winter cold upon us, local monarch fans have the option of participating in U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s public comment period regarding threatened species status, Hasle noted.

Or they can get to work on next year’s pollinator plantings.

“Those (native plant) sales come up pretty fast, and this is an ideal time to start planning out your garden,” Klinger said.

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