Monarch Listing Announcement Expected Next Week

The monarch butterfly was petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act in August 2014. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued a “warranted, but precluded” decision in December 2020, which designated the monarch as a candidate species until a final decision is made. The USFWS is expected to announce that decision, likely as a proposed rule, by Dec. 4, 2024. There are three possible outcomes, including not warranted for listing, threatened, or endangered. An endangered proposed ruling would involve an automatic set of prohibitions, whereas a threatened proposed ruling would likely include a proposed 4(d) rule to modify or exempt some prohibitions based on monarch-specific conservation needs. A public comment period, typically 60 days, will follow the proposed ruling. The USFWS will issue a final rule within twelve months after the end of the comment period.

A recent example of a proposed rule is for the regal fritillary, which includes a proposed endangered listing for the eastern regal fritillary (the eastern subspecies) and proposed threatened listing for the western regal fritillary (the western subspecies), including a 4(d) rule for the western regal fritillary. The comment period closed on Oct. 7, 2024, and you can view the comments that were submitted. You will notice that the proposed 4(d) rule for the western regal fritillary allows for routine livestock operations and other activities, but specifies blade heights for brush control, return intervals for prescribed fire, etc. Many of the submitted comments focus on the implications of these specifications for geographic locations and contexts, including best management practices.

Reviewing the comments for the regal fritillary proposed rule may be helpful for those who plan to provide comments about a proposed ruling for the monarch. There is also a document on “Tips for Submitting Effective Comments” posted by the Forest Service on Regulations.gov. Some important points from that document are 1) state the issue(s) within the rule that you are commenting on, 2) provide clear and concise comments including, 3) include pros, cons, trade-offs, examples, explanations, alternatives, etc., when relevant, 4) include a description of your background and qualifications to provide context for your comment(s), and 5) a well-written comment may be more effective than many form letters. Examples of how comments are addressed by the USFWS in final rulings can be found on the Federal Register, such as the final rule for the silverspot butterfly.

Regardless of the outcome of the listing process, we know that there continues to be cause for concern about the monarch population even with numerous ongoing voluntary conservation efforts. We need to do more to support monarchs. That means increasing the amount of monarch habitat we are creating each year, enhancing existing habitats to increase their value for monarchs, and decreasing the amount of monarch habitat that is lost each year. There are many groups and organizations supporting current efforts, but we need to expand that network to include even more people.

Join Monarch Watch in creating habitat to support monarchs and their spectacular fall migration. Please share information within your communities about creating Monarch Waystations. Encourage people, schools, and other organizations to apply to our Free Milkweeds for Schools & Educational Non-Profits and Free Milkweeds for Restoration Projects programs. If you are interested in sponsoring free milkweeds to increase the number we can give away, please reach out to let us know as we are currently in the process of working with our partner nurseries to set grow goals for 2025. The Milkweed Market will open in January 2025 for ordering milkweeds for spring planting.

Additional Reading about the Upcoming Proposed Rule Announcement
Monarch Joint Venture: United States Endangered Species Act Status
Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium: What if the monarch butterfly is listed as threatened? Understanding options with 4(d) rules
Farmers for Monarchs: ESA Listing Decision Toolkit

Photo by Ryan Balter on Unsplash