Giving the Monarch a Chance to show Resilience under the Endangered Species Act

David G. James – Associate Professor of Entomology, Washington State University & Washington Butterfly Association Board Member

The monarch, our beloved iconic butterfly, flagship species for all pollinators, is now proposed as a listed threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), after a public comment period that ends on March 12. This news was announced by the US Fish and Wildlife Service on December 10 2024. It is recognition of the fact that the monarch population in North America has declined by 80-90% over the past 25 years. The monarch was first petitioned for ESA listing in 2014 surprising the general public who had no idea that the iconic butterfly was threatened and they responded with much concern, love and most importantly on-the-ground actions to help the butterfly. Citizens across the country became involved in planting milkweed, nectar plants and habitat restoration. This groundswell of action, advocacy and education was extraordinary and a major benefit of the ESA process. The monarch now has a huge army of citizen advocates who have greatly improved habitat quality and availability throughout the country.

I must admit I was concerned that the decision of December 10 to approve listing of the monarch as a threatened species would be a retrograde step invoking rules and regulations that would deter and inhibit the actions and investment of our citizen monarch advocacy. Thankfully, this does not appear to be the case and the USFWS is instead asking for the public to be part of the monarch recovery.

USFWS recognizes all the work that has happened over the past decade and is asking that this unprecedented public participation continues and says that the listing aims to build on the progress already made. The fact that USFWS also recognizes the resilience of the monarch and that we just need to give it a chance to recover, is music to my ears because I have long promoted the species-saving traits of resilience and adaptation shown by the monarch.

My biggest fear was that the listing would prevent people from handling and rearing monarchs, that wonderful and essential experience that should be a rite of passage for every child. After all, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife decreed in 2020 that no Californian shall touch or rear a monarch without a permit. Thankfully, USFWS recognizes the importance of human-monarch contact to sustainable conservation and the listing allows the personal collection and rearing of up to 250 monarchs. So many people get so much from rearing monarchs, from young children to older people, even to inmates in penitentiaries! They all experience the magic of monarchs that often leads to a lifetime of interest, enthusiasm and concern for all butterflies and other small transformative creatures. In the big scheme of things, the nurturing of human interest and love for small wildlife by close contact, is undoubtedly one of the best and most valuable things we can do for sustainable wildlife conservation.

The ESA listing should help with one of the three major stressors to monarch populations. It will help to continue the process of restoring monarch and milkweed habitats, but it probably won’t help much with reducing pesticide impacts on monarchs or reduce the impact of climate change. The listing contains a critical habitat designation for counties in California that host overwintering populations. This provides some protection although only if proposed actions involved federal funding. Permits or approvals.

Since 2022, between 400 and 900 monarch sightings have been verified each summer in the Pacific Northwest, so it is still possible to see monarchs in Washington, particularly in June and September when they are traversing the landscape on their migrations. During summer you are most likely to find them in riparian areas of eastern Washington where milkweeds are abundant. If you can, grow some native milkweed in your garden or on your land. You will be helping to sustain and conserve our most iconic butterfly and hopefully one day see it taken off the list of threatened wildlife.

To learn more about Monarchs watch Dr. David James’ programs presentations My Monarch Journey and Western Monarchs: A Holistic View