After years of persistent advocacy following a steep 90% population decline, one of our nation’s most iconic pollinators needs your voice now more than ever! Last Tuesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced a proposal to list monarch butterflies as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, with tailored protections and conservation incentives under section 4(d).
Submit your comment here, comment period closes March 12, 2025!
Within the proposal, the USFWS recommends 4,395 acres of critical habitat in California for the Western monarch butterfly’s overwintering sites – habitats, essential for monarch survival during winter that prepare them for spring breeding.These proposed areas include portions of Alameda, Marin, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Ventura counties – many of which are located in California State Parks which play a vital role in consistently supporting 20% or more of the Western monarch population and in some years up to 50%!
TIRN’s Salmon Protection And Watershed Network (SPAWN) is the proud fiscal sponsor for the Marin Monarch Working Group (MMWG). We currently collaborate with the MMWG to promote conservation and enhance the habitat of overwintering grounds at several sites in West Marin. Additionally, we work closely with the West Marin Monarch Sanctuary in Bolinas, CA to expand summer breeding habitats through our Narrow-Leaf Milkweed Giveaway Program and planting monarch waystations on the grounds of participating schools, small businesses, and partner non-profits.
SPAWN initiated a variety of programs to help with recovery of the Western monarch and other pollinators after the population of this iconic species sharply declined in 2020. Read the full article written by SPAWN’s Program Director and Restoration Ecologist, Audrey Fusco and published by the Trees Foundation to learn more about SPAWN’s monarch habitat conservation work here.
Looking for more ways you can help save monarch butterflies?
- Read up on the monarch butterfly and their ecological importance to help inform your comment to the USFWS!
- Attend an informational meeting followed by public hearings hosted by the Marin Monarch Working Group:
- Explore the many ways your garden can support thriving monarch butterfly populations with SPAWN’s habitat restoration guides found here.
“The fact that a butterfly as widespread and beloved as the monarch is now the face of the extinction crisis should be a trinational distress signal. What’s bad for monarchs is bad for people, and we have to stop pretending our health is somehow separate from the health of wildlife.” An eloquent statement and call for action by scientist Tierra Curry and our friends at the Center for Biological Diversity. Ensuring the future of monarch butterflies requires a collective effort. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service invites everyone, from individuals to government agencies, to contribute to monarch conservation. Whether in your backyard, your fields, or along roadsides, your actions matter.
