Take political action to protect

the monarch butterflies.

There are many pieces of legislation that could help

monarch butterflies, as well as programs being

established by state and federal agencies.

Voice your support for these efforts.

 

Public Policy

 
 

  • The Monarch Act of 2021, introduced in the Senate by Jeff Merkley of Oregon and in the House of Representatives by Jimmy Panetta and Salud Carbajal of California, will provide funding for conservation activities to protect Western Monarchs.

    The Act will allocate $12.5 million per year for the next five years to a Western monarch butterfly rescue fund and provide $12.5 million to implement a conservation plan to secure habitat for Western monarchs.

    Scientists in November 2020 recorded fewer than 2,000 Western monarchs. In 2021, the numbers successfully rebounded by one hundred fold, but this new count is still only 5% of their historic size.

    Write letters to your Senators and Representatives to support this bill and ask them to expand it to also provide funding for conservation of the eastern monarchs, as well.

  • This bipartisan legislation has been introduced in both the House and the Senate. The Act would provide $1.3 billion in dedicated funding for conservation of more than 12,000 species of wildlife and plants. It would give Tribal Nations almost $100 million for wildlife conservation. While not specifically for monarchs, this bill would help them, too!

    Write the members of the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to pass it out of committee for a full vote. Also write your own members of Congress to support this bill.

  • A wonderful piece of legislation has recently been passed as part of the infrastructure bill: the Monarch and Pollinator Highway Act. This Act provides grants for states to plant pollinator habitats (including habitats for monarch butterflies and bees) and to remove invasive species along transportation routes.

    Write your state Department of Transportation to apply to this program and begin ecological restoration along your state’s roads and highways!

  • Monarch butterflies would be further protected by being listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). On December 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that adding the monarch butterfly to the ESA is allowable but precluded by work on higher priority listing actions. This means that the monarch butterfly became a candidate for listing, and its status will be reviewed each year until it is no longer a candidate.

    Lobby the Fish and Wildlife Service to make sure monarchs are listed, which will give them much higher protection.

    You can call or email the Fish and Wildlife Service by visiting this webpage.

Writing policymakers

To further help the monarchs, write your representatives and senators to support the legislation and programs discussed above. You can look up the contact information for your representative here and for your senators here. You can also write to the relevant state and federal agencies discussed above.

Try recruiting other students and members of your community to write as a group with a postcard writing party! Provide information on the legislation, blank postcards (such as these), and a sample of what to write.

Here is a sample letter to an elected official.

Dear Representative/Senator XXX,

I am writing to urge you to support the Monarch Action, Recovery, and Conservation of Habitat Act, or MONARCH Act, of 2021. Western Monarch butterfly populations have declined by over 90% and are in critical need of protection. This act would provide needed support for their conservation. Please help pass this bill—and expand it to include the eastern monarchs—in order to save these magnificent creatures. Thank you.

Sincerely,

[your name here]