The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is moving to list the monarch butterfly, which can be found throughout Arizona, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.Experts say the proposal could put serious weight behind ongoing monarch conservation efforts across Arizona, perhaps the only state that hosts butterflies from three of North America’s regional monarch populations.The Fish and Wildlife Service published its proposal to list the iconic insect on Wednesday. The proposal is one step in a multi-year process to ensure some of the strongest protections a species can receive in the United States.Monarch butterflies can be found in Arizona year-round, though not in the same location. Monarchs typically spend October through April in low deserts and escape the summer heat to higher elevations for the rest of the year. While some monarchs spend the whole year in Arizona, the state also serves as a migration gateway for butterflies from North America’s two major migratory monarch populations — the so-called “western” and “eastern” populations, which winter in California and Mexico, respectively.FWS said it is moving to protect monarchs because their numbers have plummeted in the last four decades. The western monarch population has declined by 95% since the 1980s and faces a 99% chance of extinction by 2080, according to data cited by FWS. “Despite its fragility, it is remarkably resilient, like many things in nature when we just give them a chance … Science shows that the monarch needs that chance.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams said in a prepared statement.Protecting species:Botanical gardens emerge as a model of biodiversity for Arizona’s butterfly populationsCritical habitat would be established in CaliforniaBiologists believe habitat destruction, insecticides, and the effects of climate change are responsible for the butterfly’s decline. In particular, herbicides like Monsanto’s Roundup and the spread of agriculture have reduced populations of milkweed plants, the only food source for monarch caterpillars.Though Arizona provides winter sanctuary for some monarchs, the agency has not proposed establishing a “critical habitat” for the butterflies in Arizona. Instead, the proposal includes critical habitat designations along the California coast, where western monarchs breed. While private landowners and individuals face no restrictions in critical habitat areas, federally-funded projects must not adversely affect or destroy critical habitat.Outside critical habitat, the federal government must ensure that its projects and actions do not harm listed species, which could affect management in Arizona’s vast tracts of federal land, relied upon by loggers, ranchers, mine …
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