A monarch butterfly sipping nectar from swamp milkweed.
Our beloved butterfly
With its iconic orange and black markings, the monarch butterfly is one of the most recognizable species in North America. Monarchs are particularly remarkable because they migrate each year, flying from as far as Canada and across the United States to congregate at a few forested overwintering sites in the mountains of central Mexico and coastal California. These sites are an amazing phenomenon: thousands of monarchs cluster in the trees in California, and millions of monarchs drape large swathes of forest in Mexico.
But over the past two decades, monarch numbers in North America have declined, prompting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 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.
Working together to save the monarch
As the premiere conservation agency in the United States, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has the responsibility to ensure that the monarch migration phenomenon continues. It’s going to take everyone – from government agencies to individuals to ensure a future filled with monarchs. You can do your part for monarchs in your backyard, in your back forty and along every back road.
We're “all in” on monarch conservation. And we can’t do it alone. We're focused on increasing monarch habitat on the lands we manage and engaging with all partners on monarch conservation, including Tribes, state and federal agencies and conservation groups.
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 due to several threats. Here, you can find information about how you can help monarchs, contribute to their habitat and find resources and assistance to help guide your actions.
We're 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.
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 climate change Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.
The proposal to list the monarch butterfly, and designate critical habitat, will appear in the Federal Register reading room on Wednesday, December 11. A 90-day comment period will open on December 12, 2024 and close on March 12, 2025. Information on how to submit comments can be found on regulations.gov by searching docket number FWS-R3-ES-2024-0137.
Public meetings and hearings
We will hold two public informational meetings followed by public hearings. The first meeting and hearing will be from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EST on January 14, 2025. To accommodate those in western time zones, the second meeting and hearing will be from 8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EST on January 15, 2025.
