Questions & Answers
Questions and answers: Monarch critical habitat
What is critical habitat?
Critical habitat is defined in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as an area that contains habitat features, physical and biological, that are essential for the survival and recovery of a listed species, and which may require special management considerations or protections. Critical habitat may include areas occupied by the species at the time of listing, or those that are not occupied but are essential to its conservation.
Regulation of critical habitat is limited to section 7 of the ESA that requires federal agencies to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on any actions that may affect critical habitat. Our agency can then recommend ways to minimize, offset and avoid project impacts. Critical habitat is a tool to guide federal agencies in fulfilling their conservation responsibilities by requiring them to consult with the U. S Fish and Wildlife Service if their actions may “destroy or adversely modify” critical habitat for listed species.
Critical habitat designations affect only federal agency actions or federally funded or permitted activities. Critical habitat designations do not affect activities by private landowners if there is no federal “nexus” as defined by Section 7 Section 7
Section 7 Consultation
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) directs all Federal agencies to work to conserve endangered and threatened species and to use their authorities to further the purposes of the Act. Section 7 of the Act, called "Interagency Cooperation," is the mechanism by which Federal agencies ensure the actions they take, including those they fund or authorize, do not jeopardize the existence of any listed species.
Learn more about Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act —that is, no federal funding or authorization. Federal agencies are required to avoid “destruction” or “adverse modification” of designated critical habitat. The ESA requires the designation of “critical habitat” for listed species when “prudent and determinable.”
Establishing critical habitat is not intended to interfere with ongoing land management operations such as fire and fuels management, grazing, farming, recreation or other uses. The designation of critical habitat would not affect land ownership or establish a wildlife refuge, wilderness reserve, preserve or other conservation area conservation area
A conservation area or wildlife management area is a type of national wildlife refuge that consists primarily or entirely of conservation easements on private lands. These conservation easements support private landowner efforts to protect important habitat for fish and wildlife. There are 15 conservation areas and nine wildlife management areas in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Learn more about conservation area . Private landowners need to consider critical habitat only if their activities involve federal funding or permitting. A critical habitat designation imposes no requirements on state or private land unless the action involves federal funding, permits or approvals.
Critical habitat has value in requiring our agency to gather more detailed information about a species in a local area than what is required for listing, thereby increasing knowledge to share with federal agencies—and, in turn, increasing their effectiveness to conserve a listed species.
Where and how much critical habitat is proposed for the monarch butterfly?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing critical habitat at western migratory population overwintering sites in coastal California including 4,395 acres (1,778 hectares) across Alameda, Marin, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Ventura counties. For the survival and recovery of the western monarch, overwintering habitat along California’s coast is essential to the monarch’s ability to withstand the winter months in order to breed again in the early spring and continue the lifecycle of the monarch.
We are also announcing the availability of an economic analysis of the proposed designation of critical habitat for the monarch butterfly.
We are not proposing critical habitat at eastern migratory population overwintering sites because all known sites are in Mexico, and our agency does not have the authority to designate critical habitat outside the United States.
We are not proposing critical habitat within monarch butterfly breeding and migratory areas or for resident monarch populations which may breed in the winter or year-round due to the expansive nature of breeding and migratory habitat, the variability in the suitability of specific locations from year to year, and the opportunistic nature of monarch habitat use.
We are seeking comments about the proposed critical habitat, including any additional areas in the United States, especially in breeding, migratory, or overwintering areas. For full information about the types of public comment we are requesting, see our proposed rule. Please include sufficient information with your submission (such as scientific journal articles or other publications) to allow us to verify any scientific or commercial information you include.
What is an economic analysis and what are the findings?
When specifying an area as critical habitat, the Endangered Species Act requires our agency to consider economic and other relevant impacts of the designation. Through the development of an Economic Analysis, which is available for public comment along with this proposed rule, we determined that only administrative costs are expected as a result of the proposed critical habitat designation. The economic analysis estimates the costs associated with the designation of critical habitat are likely to be limited to the additional administrative effort required to consider destruction or adverse modification in consultations and is unlikely to meet the threshold for an economically significant rule as defined in E.O. 14094.
Why aren’t monarch butterfly breeding and migratory areas in the United States included as proposed critical habitat?
Monarch butterfly breeding and migratory habitat covers much of the contiguous United States. Areas that support essential breeding and migratory habitat can change in relatively short timeframes, even month to month or year to year, due to many reasons. Factors that impact habitat and use by monarchs include weather conditions such as storms, natural succession, disturbance, and habitat creation. Some areas see transient use and it can be difficult to predict if, and when, monarchs will use specific fields of milkweed and nectar plants during breeding season. This unpredictability is extended to roost trees and riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian corridors during a migration season.
Ensuring monarchs have high quality habitat across the United States is key to their survival and recovery. Habitat conservation and restoration is central to conserving eastern and western monarch populations.
Critical habitat is only one conservation tool made available by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Even when there is no critical habitat designation, if a species is present or known to use habitat and may be impacted by a federal action or a federally permitted or funded project, consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is required fulfill conservation responsibilities under Section 7 Section 7
Section 7 Consultation
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) directs all Federal agencies to work to conserve endangered and threatened species and to use their authorities to further the purposes of the Act. Section 7 of the Act, called "Interagency Cooperation," is the mechanism by which Federal agencies ensure the actions they take, including those they fund or authorize, do not jeopardize the existence of any listed species.
Learn more about Section 7 of the ESA. This consultation and coordination process helps to ensure that federal agencies support the recovery of listed species with expertise and guidance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Why aren’t non-migratory resident monarch populations such as those found in Florida included in the proposed critical habitat?
The areas used by non-migratory monarchs in the winter have the same characteristics of being expansive in nature, having variability in the suitability of specific locations from year to year, and being used by monarchs opportunistically. Additionally, the areas used by non-migratory monarchs support only a small proportion of the monarchs in North America. Therefore, we determined these locations are not essential to the overall conservation of the species.
How did you select the proposed critical habitat?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service evaluated a number of factors when selecting overwintering habitat for the proposed critical habitat designation including quantity and quality of sites, key habitat features, distribution across the core of monarchs’ overwintering range and sites that have predictably supported the largest number of butterflies over the last 10 years.
Overwintering monarchs are vulnerable to their environment during this phase of their lifecycle, thus we also evaluated sites by their capacity to support monarchs based on habitat features and conditions of the site. Habitat features essential to overwintering habitat include core zones, where the monarchs congregate; shelter zones, where trees and vegetation provide wind protection and stabilize microclimates; and support zones, where landscape features provide nectar plants and water sources. All proposed critical habitat areas are currently seasonally occupied by monarch butterflies. Though the conditions of the features vary by site, together, the three zones provide all of the physical and biological habitat features essential for conservation of monarchs at each overwintering site.
Does a critical habitat designation affect all activities that occur within the designated area?
Only activities that may affect the critical habitat that involve a federal action agency, permit, license, or funding, would be affected by a critical habitat designation.
Are all the areas within the mapped boundaries considered critical habitat?
No. A critical habitat designation protects only the habitat that a species needs to survive, reproduce, and ultimately be conserved. Although certain landscape features like parking lots and piers may fall within the boundaries of designated critical habitat, there are no requirements to maintain those features unless they are being used by the protected species for activities related to reproduction or survival.
Are private lands included in the proposed critical habitat designation?
Yes. Private lands are included in the proposed critical habitat. However, a critical habitat designation does not necessarily restrict activities and affects only federally funded or permitted projects.
If the monarch butterfly is listed, will the government have free access to my land?
No, the presence of a listed species or critical habitat does not give government employees or representatives any rights to access private property.
I’m a landowner and my property is included in the proposed critical habitat designation. Am I required to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service?
No. There is no requirement for private landowners consult with our agency. If you are working with a federal agency to permit, license or fund work on your property, that federal agency will consult with us on activities that may impact monarch butterflies.
For those landowners who are interested in preserving overwintering sites for monarch butterflies, our agency has recommendations for managing overwintering habitat such as:
- maintaining the tree groves and the surrounding habitat;
- protecting and maintaining landscape features that contribute to the microclimate conditions of groves;
- proactively planting trees and shrubs or removing and replacing dead trees, where appropriate, to support long-term habitat suitability of overwintering sites;
- restoring or enhancing nectar habitat near overwintering areas using native, insecticide-free plants;
- reducing fuel loads and minimizing the risk of catastrophic wildfire within overwintering habitat through selective thinning;
- avoiding use of pesticides near overwintering sites or nectar habitat when monarchs may be present; and minimizing the likelihood that development projects will impact the quality or quantity of the habitat.
For more information, technical or financial assistance with protecting and restoring overwintering habitat (critical habitat designation or not), please see the conservation recommendations such as the Overwintering Grove Management Plan Template provided by the Western Monarch & Native Insect Pollinator Working Group or contact our Habitat Restoration Division.
Does a critical habitat designation mean an area is considered a wildlife refuge or sanctuary?
No, a critical habitat designation does not affect land ownership or establish a refuge, wilderness, reserve, preserve, or other conservation area conservation area
A conservation area or wildlife management area is a type of national wildlife refuge that consists primarily or entirely of conservation easements on private lands. These conservation easements support private landowner efforts to protect important habitat for fish and wildlife. There are 15 conservation areas and nine wildlife management areas in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Learn more about conservation area .