Date: 12/20/24 3:33 pm From: Carol Joan Patterson <0000003a0ccbe138-dmarc-request...> Subject: Add Monarchs to the Endangered Species List
This year when birding, I saw shockingly few Monarchs. I am so desperately concerned that I am forwarding this email to ARBIRD, as I don't see a link to facebook. I apologize that this post is not strictly about birds, but it does concern what for me is an important part of birding. Here was my chance, and perhaps yours, to help them. Below is the comment I made to the Fish and Wildlife Service. "During the past two decades, Monarch Butterfly numbers in North America have drastically declined. This finding is reinforced by my own observations. During bird censuses, I also keep an eye out for butterflies. This past year I saw less than a handful of Monarch Butterflies, an appalling drop in numbers.. Their habitat in both the United States and Mexico is being decimated; insecticides are an ongoing threat, as are the effects of climate change. Their beauty, life-style and spectacular migration should not be lost. It is most urgent that you put the Monarch Butterfly on the Endangered Species List."
----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Rachel Carson Council <office...>To: Carol Joan Patterson <joanie.patterson...>Sent: Friday, December 20, 2024 at 06:30:09 AM CSTSubject: ACTION ALERT: Tell the US Fish and Wildlife Service: Add Monarchs to the Endangered Species List
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Dear Carol Joan,
Monarchs were particularly meaningful to Rachel Carson, who watched the butterflies’ migration with her close friend Dorothy Freeman. Knowing she was dying from breast cancer, Rachel wrote to Dorothy, “but most of all, I shall remember the monarchs.”
Over the past two decades, Monarch numbers in North America have radically declined, prompting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to join Tribes, state agencies, other federal agencies and non-government groups to identify threats to the Monarch and take steps to conserve monarchs throughout their range.
Monarch butterflies are known for their impressive long-distance migration and large clusters they form while overwintering in Mexico and coastal California. Once abundant, Monarch butterfly populations have been steadily declining since the mid-1990s.
According to the most recent Monarch Species Status Assessment, by 2080 the probability of extinction for eastern Monarchs ranges from 56 to 74% and the probability of extinction for western Monarchs is greater than 95%. Threats to the species include the loss and degradation of breeding, migratory and overwintering habitat, exposure to insecticides and the effects of climate change.
Monarchs are currently not protected under the Endangered Species Act!
The USFWS is seeking public comment on a proposed rule to list the Monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The listing proposal is accompanied by a proposed critical habitat designation for the species at its overwintering grounds in coastal California and a proposed 4(d) rule that offers species-specific protections and flexibilities to encourage conservation.
Make your voice heard and submit a comment on the USFWS website that you want them to protect this iconic butterfly.
