Conservation Groups Push For Monarch Butterfly Protections

Two conservation groups are pushing the federal government to follow through on federal protections under the Endangered Species Act for monarch butterflies, common in many national parks.

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Food Safety filed a lawsuit Thursday against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, asking the court to compel the agency to set a binding date to finalize protections for migratory monarchs, which travel through multiple national parks during their annual flight from the northern United States and southern Canada to winter habitat in Mexico.

The monarch was proposed for protection in December 2024, which meant the final listing was due one year later. But, for the first time since 1981, protections weren't extended to any single plant or animal species in 2025, according to a news release from the two groups.

“The Service must finalize monarchs’ protections from their threats, including and especially pesticides, which have been a major driver of their rapid decline,” said George Kimbrell, legal director at the Center for Food Safety and counsel in the case.

Millions of monarchs migrate to the mountains of Mexico each year, while thousands in the western United States spend their winters in California. Easy to spot by their orange and black markings, they are perhaps the most well-known butterfly species. But their populations have declined rapidly since the 1990s. The Fish and Wildlife Service notes on its website that monarchs are  more likely than not to be extinct by 2080. The agency cites threats including loss of habitat, exposure to insecticide and the effects of climate change.

The groups that filed the lawsuit argue the delay in protections increases extinction risk for monarchs. 

“Comprehensive protections are urgently needed to ensure a future for these migratory wonders,” said Tierra Curry, endangered species co-director at the Center for Biological Diversity.

Efforts by the center and other groups to protect monarchs go back to at least 2014, when they filed a scientific and legal petition with the Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Some of the best places to view monarchs in parks include  Muir Woods National Monument and Yosemite National Park  in California, Montezuma National Castle Monument in Arizona,  Fire Island National Seashore in New York, Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina, Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, and Zion National Park in Utah.