Monarch Action, Recovery, and Conservation of Habitat Act of 2021
Latest Count of Western Monarch Butterfly Highlights Steep Toll of Climate-Fueled Disasters
January 31, 2023
Monarch Act Provides Critical Resources for the Protection of Western Migratory Monarchs and other Pollinators
March 17, 2023
Monarch Action, Recovery, and
Conservation of Habitat Act of 2021
The Monarch Act of 2021 (H.R.1983; S.809) will provide funding to restore, enhance, and manage overwintering and breeding habitats of monarch populations in the western U.S. The act will:
- Authorize $12.5 million annually for the next five years to a Western Monarch Butterfly Rescue Fund,
- Provide additional $12.5 million annually for the next five years to support implementation of the Western Monarch Butterfly Conservation Plan—prepared by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and
- Facilitate the implementation of the Western Monarch Butterfly Conservation Plan by state and federal agencies, Tribes, non-profit conservation organizations, and universities and other research institutions.
Why Monarchs Need Us to Take Action
As the western monarch population edges closer to extinction, these butterflies need the resources that the Monarch Act will provide to support restoration of their habitats and recovery of their population.
The monarch butterfly is a sentinel species. Monarchs depend on diverse native habitats that are also the home of many other North American wildlife species. Once common, the monarch butterfly is experiencing an alarming decline primarily due to the loss of overwintering and breeding habitat, pesticide use, and climate change.
Monarchs are just one of many species of butterflies and bees that are facing extinction. Recent research has revealed that more than half of the butterfly species in the western U.S. are declining.
WESTERN MONARCHS IN JEOPARDY
The breeding habitat of the western monarch population covers 7 states. Most western migratory monarchs overwinter in hundreds of forested groves along the California Coast. In 2020, the Xerces Society’s Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count recorded fewer than 2,000 monarch butterflies at their overwintering sites. Though more monarch butterflies were counted in the fall of 2021, the population has not yet recovered. This most recent estimate represents about 5% of the 4-10 million monarchs that overwintered there in the 1980s.
CONTACT
Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón, PhD / Climate-Resilient
Habitats, Senior Manager; Chief Monarch Strategist
National Wildlife Federation
QuinonezPinonR@nwf.org · 512-610-7764
Sarina Jepsen / Director of Endangered Species Program
The Xerces Society
sarina.jepsen@xerces.org · 971-244-3727
