The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing protection for one of the nation’s most beloved species — the monarch butterfly.

In the 1980s, over 4.5 million western monarchs flocked to overwintering grounds in coastal California. In the mid-1990s, an estimated 380 million eastern monarchs made the long-distance journey to overwintering grounds in Mexico, completing one of the longest insect migrations in the world.

Today, the eastern migratory population is estimated to have declined by approximately 80%. The western migratory population has declined by more than 95% since the 1980s, putting the western populations at greater than 99% chance of extinction by 2080. During this same period, the probability of extinction for eastern monarchs ranges from 56% to 74%, according to the Service’s most recent species status assessment.

Although many people have already helped conserve the butterfly, additional habitat and protections are needed to ensure the species is conserved for future generations, the Service reports.

“The iconic monarch butterfly is cherished across North America, captivating children and adults throughout its fascinating lifecycle. Despite its fragility, it is remarkably resilient, like many things in nature when we just give them a chance,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams. “Science shows that the monarch needs that chance, and this proposed listing invites and builds on unprecedented public participation in shaping monarch conservation efforts."

For more than 50 years, the ESA has been an effective catalyst for on-the-ground collaborative conservation, promoting the recovery of wildlife and conserving the habitats upon which they depend, the Service claims.

"This proposed rule will help build on and enhance monarch conservation efforts while balancing activities in support of economic growth," the agency said in a December press release.

While some hail the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service's proposed listing of the species, Wyoming's Western Caucus chairs are calling the listing an attempt by the Biden administration to score political points prior to stepping aside for the second Trump administration.

Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and her counterpart in the House, Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), slammed the Biden administration’s "last ditch attempts to appease climate activists" by listing the monarch butterfly as a threatened species, "senselessly hogtying landowners with restrictive regulations to score some final political points," according to a press release late last year.

“The Endangered Species Act is in dire need of reform, and this listing by the Fish and Wildlife Service only further drives home this point,” Lummis said. “As Republicans prepare to control the Senate, House and White House next year, I look forward to prioritizing legislative and administrative reforms that will protect species without hindering economic development.”

Wildlife conservation groups say efforts to weaken the Endangered Species Act are simply another chance to demonize the 1973 legislation that provides a framework to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats both domestically and abroad to placate Western extractive industries.

"We need to call this out for what it is: a blatant disregard for our nation’s wildlife and wild places, in favor of more oil and gas development and habitat destruction," The Natural Resources Defense Council said at the time. "This Administration continues to favor special interests over the interests of most Americans, who favor species protections.”

Lummis has been looking for an opportunity to revert to rules first put in place by the Trump administration in 2019 before being reversed by President Biden. The Trump administration finalized key changes to the Endangered Species Act that added more flexibility for affected stakeholders while also ensuring species’ recovery plans take a tailored and targeted approach. With the GOP in control of the White House, both houses of Congress and a 6-3 majority in the Supreme Court this may be the opportunity they have been looking for.

In an opinion piece in August of 2023 in Agri-Pulse, Lummis promised to lead the fight against "ham-fisted" attempts to hamstring industry in the West.

"In Wyoming and across the West, we’ve seen firsthand how the ham-fisted implementation of the law has negatively impacted landowners with almost no benefit to the species in question. Despite its lukewarm success, the Biden administration is now taking steps to repeal commonsense reforms implemented by President Donald Trump, and I am leading the fight in Congress to oppose these changes," Lummis wrote.

Newhouse said simply proposing protections for the migrating butterfly shows the need to change the landmark legislation.

“This announcement by the Fish and Wildlife Service proposing to list the monarch butterfly as threatened highlights the need for comprehensive reform to the Endangered Species Act,” said Newhouse. “For far too long, the ESA has been used to stifle development while encroaching on the rights of private landowners. The Western Caucus will continue to prioritize reforms to the ESA, including the ESA Amendments Act, to make the law work better for species, landowners and rural communities alike.”

Wyoming monarchs

Monarch butterfly populations are found across the contiguous U.S., including Wyoming. However, a local scientist who has led the Park County Butterfly Count for the past dozen years said monarchs in northwest Wyoming are simply stopping by during migration between the northern U.S. and Canada and a few destinations in southern U.S. and Mexico. Threats to monarchs include loss and degradation of breeding, migratory and overwintering habitat; exposure to insecticides; and the effects of climate change.  

"It's just a few stragglers of monarchs that we see in Wyoming. Not ever a big migration or swarm," said Bobbie Holder, former University of Wyoming Extension horticulturist in Park County.

The butterfly had never made the species list during the butterfly count, she said. However, the beautiful, marathon migration insects are common in limited numbers at Holder's home.

"I have a few — one or two — that will show up in my house every year because I have a pollinator habitat, but that's all. I've never had more than three, maybe in an entire summer in my yard," she said.

Holder's yard is a pollinator's dream habitat. She has a 100-by-100-square-foot lot in Cody in the Valley View subdivision. She doesn't have a Kentucky bluegrass lawn. Instead, she has 11 varieties of natural grasses in her front yard and about 40 different flowering plants.

"I have plants that start to flower early in spring, and the last thing that blooms at my house will make it through a couple of frosts," she said. "I have something blooming all the time to feed the bees and the butterflies."

Many of her plants are native to Wyoming. The vegetation attracts pollinators and birds year round. Holder brags she can photograph 10 different kinds of pollinators within 15 minutes without leaving her property.

One of the major issues with the butterfly is its reliance on an indigenous, yet extremely invasive weed. In the larval stage, the species only lays its eggs on milkweed.

"The coloring of the monarch tells the birds that it's got poisonous attributes. It comes from the caterpillar eating the milkweed. So the only place that a female monarch can lay her eggs are on that species of plant," Holder said.

She has the invasive species in her yard to feed the butterfly during its migration between, but cuts off the blooms before they can spread their seeds.

Bird-like migration

The annual migration of the monarch butterfly is unique. The monarch is the only butterfly known to make a two-way migration — as birds do, the U.S. Forest Service reports. Unlike other butterflies that can overwinter as larvae, pupae, or even as adults in some species, monarchs can't survive the cold winters of northern climates. Using environmental cues, the monarchs know when it is time to travel south for the winter. Monarchs use a combination of air currents and thermals to travel long distances. Some fly as far as 3,000 miles to reach their winter home.

"I think the longest recorded flight was 241 miles in 24 hours," Holder said. "Now that's probably a lot of wind lift, you know, but still, that's an amazing fight for such a small creature. But they can't stop and refuel if there's not food along the way. I mean, it's like us, if there's no restaurants for 500 miles, we're going to be pretty hungry, right?"

Holder is glad the butterfly is being proposed for protections. The listing brings the species recognition and federal funding, she said.

"Without those two things, you're not going anywhere. It's definitely the recognition and understanding," she said. "I sure wish we didn't have to have something [listed as] endangered to understand how vital it is, but apparently, that's how our society works."

For Holder, the process of ignoring warning signs until it is nearly too late is a big button issue. Push that button and she can talk for hours about conservation efforts for species that face the possibility of extinction.

"We are not proactive, and we're damned if we'll give up any inconvenience," she said about our current society. "And honestly, I think that's where it's at; we're going to have to give up a little bit. We're going to have to ease off on having to have control over every square inch of the world and wanting to dominate it."

Last year was the final Park County Butterfly Count, Holder said. After a dozen years, most of those involved had become too old to "run after butterflies" and the rigorous scientific data became overwhelming for the group, Holder said. However, there still may be trips to join in the future, it just won't be part of the official count.

"People are not going to save what they don't love, and they're not going to love something they don't know, and they're not going to know something that they're not introduced to. So it's kind of a cascade effect," Holder said. "I feel like I'm the introducer. I'm the person that is brought here to help them make a connection."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the monarch butterfly as threatened under the Endangered Species Act on Dec. 10, 2024. They will accept public comments on the proposal until March 12, 2025. The final rule will be issued within 12 months after the comment period ends.