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Monarch Butterfly Protection Delayed 12-16-20 18:20 DC

The monarch butterfly will have to wait several years more to receive protection under the Endangered Species Act despite its declining population.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will consider the black-and-orange butterfly, once a common sight in backyard gardens, meadows, and other landscapes, a “candidate” for designation as threatened or endangered.

The monarch’s status will be reviewed annually. Emergency action could be taken earlier, but plans now call for proposing to list the monarch in 2024 unless its situation improves enough to make the step unnecessary.

Scientists estimate the monarch population in the eastern U.S. has fallen about 80% since the mid-1990s, while the drop-off in the western U.S. has been even steeper.

 

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