Monarch butterflies have been recommended for protected status by the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Left: Graphic courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service depicting flowchart of steps to gaining protected status Right: Monarchs flutter down Michigan Ave. in Chicago, Abigail Derby Lewis

On December 10th, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced their official recommendation to give the monarch butterfly protected status as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The recommendation came as a result of a 4 year process in which the USFWS monitored the butterfly’s population and determined their risk of extinction.

This recommendation, considered a milestone by conservationists, does not mean that the monarch is officially listed as threatened or legally protected by the US government yet. 

The road to being protected by the ESA, a.k.a. being placed on the endangered species list as it is often referred to, is a long and complex one. The case of the monarch’s listing is no exception. 

2014-2020

The monarch’s journey to protected status began in August 2014. That year the annual population count revealed a staggering new low. Every year, monarch butterflies migrate across North America and rely on wildflowers along the way for food and milkweed plants for their caterpillars to eat. Pesticides around farmland kill a lot of the milkweed that monarchs need, and as a result, there are far fewer monarchs.

Monarch population is measured by the number of hectares they occupy at their overwintering sites in central Mexico, where they cluster together on tree trunks and branches to keep warm. The more area they cover, the healthier the population is considered. Scientists have estimated the minimum area needed for a healthy population is about 6 hectares (15 acres). In the winter of 2013-2014, they occupied just .67 hectares (1.6 acres). 

When the findings were published in 2014, a coalition of concerned conservation organizations submitted a formal petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to address the butterfly’s rapidly declining population, urging them to give it protected status. 

The petition submission started a 90 day review process for the USFWS to decide if the evidence supporting it was substantial enough to warrant further consideration. The evidence provided in the monarchs’ petition was considered substantial and so the monarch moved on to the third step – study and designation. 

During this third step, the USFWS conducts a 12 month investigation to determine a species’ likelihood of extinction through a highly technical and scientifically backed series of assessments. At the end of the study, the animal is given one of four designations based on the findings: 

1) Not warranted, 2) Warranted but precluded, 3) Threatened, or 4) Endangered.

2020-2024

The monarch’s “12 month period of study” took nearly 6 years. But finally, in December of 2020, the USFWS announced that as a result of vigorous evaluation and study the monarch butterfly was to be considered “warranted but precluded” from protected status. 

A “warranted but precluded” finding means that monarchs met the criteria for listing but that other species in the queue had a greater need. Unsatisfied with the delay in decision making, in 2022 one of the original petitioners for monarch listing, the Center for Biological Diversity, sued in federal court in order to force the USFWS to make a final determination in 2024.

A lot happened in the world of monarch butterflies between 2022 and 2024. Conservation organizations made huge social and policy pushes. Canada federally recognized the species as endangered. And, notably, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) placed the monarch on their Red List of Threatened Species.

Even though the monarch’s inclusion on the IUCN Red List was an important milestone, it had no effect on US policy. That is the critical difference between the IUCN’s listing and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s listing. In USFWS giving protected status to the monarch, laws and policies are put into place that legally mandate conservation efforts – not just suggest them. 

Today

Fast forward to December 2024, we have finally reached the end of the revision period set forward by the USFWS.  On December 10, the USFWS released their long awaited update to their findings and proposed that the monarch butterfly meets the criteria for threatened status.

This decision leads us to where we are today. From now through March 12, 2025, the USFWS is accepting public comment on the proposed listing. During this time, scientists, institutions, conservation organizations, and importantly, the general public are invited to provide their feedback about this recommendation. 

This is where you can get involved! Every comment demanding protection for the monarch helps. Linked here is more information about what protected status means for monarchs, how to comment, and opportunities to attend virtual public hearings.

The public comment period will be followed by more time for legislative action and in approximately one year a decision will be handed down in response to this petition cycle. 

The road to legal protection for the monarch butterfly in the United States has been a long one, and there is still a ways to go. Nonetheless, this official recommendation by USFWS has been a crucial next step in safeguarding a future where monarch butterflies are given the opportunity to flourish for generations to come.