More than 45 transportation and energy companies, as well as dozens of private landowners, have agreed to create or maintain monarch butterfly habitat along "rights-of-way" corridors across the United States. DebraLee Wiseberg / Getty Images
By Liz Kimbrough
The side of the road isn't usually thought of as ideal habitat. But for insects, such as butterflies and their caterpillars, the long expanses of land along roads and utility corridors add up to a considerable amount of home turf.
<p>More than 45 transportation and energy companies, as well as dozens of private landowners, have agreed to create or maintain monarch butterfly (<em>Danaus plexippus</em>) habitat along "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_of_way" target="_blank">rights-of-way</a>" corridors across the United States.</p><p>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) have signed a historic <a href="https://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ref=historic-agreement-will-conserve-millions-of-acres-for-monarch-b&_ID=36540" target="_blank">agreement</a> that allows participant landholders to dedicate a percentage of their lands to monarch conservation management in exchange for regulatory flexibility on the rest of their enrolled lands.</p><p>Populations of both <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/number-of-monarch-butterflies-wintering-in-mexico-down-by-more-than-half/" target="_blank">eastern monarchs</a> and <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/02/western-monarch-butterfly-numbers-critically-low-for-second-straight-year/" target="_blank">western monarchs</a> have declined by more than 80% over the past decade and are nearing a <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/02/western-monarch-butterfly-numbers-critically-low-for-second-straight-year/" target="_blank">tipping point</a> for migratory collapse. In light of these declines, the USFWS is set to decide in December 2020 if the monarch butterfly will be classified as a federally endangered species under the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/" target="_blank">Endangered Species Act</a>.</p><p>Land managers and businesses expressed concerns that if they voluntarily created monarch habitat and the monarch was then listed as federally endangered species, the resulting regulations to protect monarchs could complicate their operations or subject them to additional permitting requirements.</p>
<p>"Some companies wanted to wait to see how the listing would play out," Iris Caldwell, a program manager at the Energy Resources Center at UIC, told Mongabay. "But if you are following what's happening with the butterflies you know we really can't wait. We need to be creating habitat on a variety of different landscapes, as much as we can."</p><p>This led Caldwell and her colleagues in the <a href="http://rightofway.erc.uic.edu/" target="_blank">Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group</a> (a group of 200 transportation, energy, government, and nonprofit organizations) to ask what kinds of tools existed to eliminate these regulatory uncertainties faced by landowners.</p><p>"How can you incentivize a regulated entity or a utility to do this voluntary proactive work," Caldwell asked, "and still give them kind of the flexibility and the certainty that they need and be able to, in fact, invest in that work without kind of a fear of repercussion?"</p>
<p>The group decided to make use of the USFWs Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) and Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA). Both are formal, voluntary agreements between participant landowners and the USFWS aimed at conserving and protecting at-risk species.</p><p>In the CCAA, the USFWS provides assurance that the landowner participants will not be required to take additional conservation measures on their enrolled lands if the monarch butterfly later becomes listed as an endangered species.</p><p>"So they can just kind of go about business as usual. And if they happen to accidentally kill monarchs in that process, they won't be subjected to the under the endangered species laws," Tara Cornelisse, a senior scientist at the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a>, an organization who submitted comments on the agreement, told Mongabay. "So, in turn, what they're supposed to do is give a percentage of those enrolled lands over to conservation."</p><p>Some of the conservation actions available and recommended to the landholder participants are: adjusting the timing of mowing practices to avoid periods when the monarch larva will be present; moving away from broadcast herbicide spray to targeted herbicide applications; replanting after a construction project on their right-of-way; and using a native seed mix across their system that help promote beneficial plants.</p>
<p>"Some of these organizations manage hundreds of thousands of acres of land and implementing some of these actions across a system of that scale is no small feat," Caldwell said. "I think that kind of learning curve early on and rolling out and implementing some of these conservation measures at scale, may present a challenge for some."</p><p>This is why the role of UIC in coordinating efforts among all the partners who are involved will be really important, Caldwell says. UIC will serve as an intermediary between the landowner participants and the USFWS. The participants will be required to monitor certain data and self-report annually to UIC. UIC will follow up on any discrepancies or concerns and will then submit an annual report summarizing all of the overall work and efforts and any findings across the agreement to the Fish and Wildlife Service.</p><p>This is the largest and first nationwide CCAA in history, and Caldwell said she's hopeful that the data collected will lead to insights to inform best management and adaptive management practices for the conservation of monarchs.</p>
<p>"The elephant in the room," Cornelisse said, "is if this would preclude the listing of the species [as a federally endangered species]."</p><p>Monarchs have a much wider range of habitat and potential habitat than rights-of-way corridors. Up to 75%, of potential monarch habitat is on agricultural lands. Over the past few decades, urban sprawl, pesticide and herbicide‐intensive agriculture, and climate change have contributed to the <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/insects-decline-on-land-fare-better-in-water-study-finds/" target="_blank">global declines of insects</a>, including monarchs. An ESA listing would afford the species greater protection across their range.</p><p>"The enrolled lands outside the adopted acres [areas managed for conservation] cannot be credited with benefiting monarchs," the Center for Biological Diversity said in written public comments to the USFWS. "It is important that when the Service weighs the value of these lands in other contexts, such as the [Endangered Species Act]‐ listing decision, that not all enrolled lands be considered to be providing habitat for monarchs."</p><p>"I think anybody who knows the science behind the monarch's decline, and the extent of it would say, yes, this [agreement] could provide some benefits, but it cannot preclude the listing of the species," Cornelisse said.</p>
<p>The USFWS anticipates that between 2 million and 26 million acres (809,000 to 10.5 million hectares) of land may be enrolled in the CCAA and CCA agreements, but the percentage of the enrolled land that will be managed for conservation is still to be determined.</p><p>"What is striking to me is so often we just don't think of these [rights-of-way] as conservation landscapes," Caldwell said. "Oftentimes, we don't think of them at all. We're just driving past thousands of miles of roadsides and utility corridors. And so, the whole idea of being able to maximize these landscapes to create habitat for species that really need it, I think, is really exciting."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/historic-agreement-gives-monarch-butterflies-the-right-of-way/" target="_blank">Mongabay</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Woman building a diy insect hotel outdoor. Guido Mieth / DigitalVision / Getty Images
By Courtney Lindwall
If you're one of those people cooped up safely at home, with creative energy and free time to spare—count yourself lucky. Here, we've rounded up a list of two dozen environmental projects that can make your time indoors, or right outside, a little brighter. Whether you're ready to start rescuing more of your kitchen scraps, sewing your own cloth napkins, or documenting those backyard butterflies, we hope these simple green ideas will provide a calming means of coping during these unprecedented times. Have fun and stay safe.
Experiment in the Kitchen
<p><strong>Spice up mealtime with recipes from </strong><a href="https://savethefood.com/recipes/" target="_blank">Save the Food</a> that will also help prevent your food from going to waste. Make a fromage fort to spread on your crackers, or "scraps falafel" to use up wrinkly onions and wilted herbs. And for dessert, how about some <a href="https://savethefood.com/recipes/leftover-mashed-potato-apple-cider-donuts" target="_blank">leftover mashed potato apple cider donuts</a>? </p><p><strong>Rescue wilting herbs.</strong> Make <a href="https://savethefood.com/storage" target="_blank">herb oil ice cubes</a><a href="https://savethefood.com/storage" target="_blank"> by </a>packing diced herbs into an ice cube tray, covering with olive oil, and freezing. Thaw for ready-made flavor in your next dish. You can also transform less-than-fresh herbs into sauces, like chimichurri or pesto, or roast them and mix with salt to create longer-lasting seasonings. </p><p><strong>Start a windowsill herb garden. </strong>You'll need some seeds or a small plant, an upcycled container like a coffee canister that leaves room for growth and drainage, and a sunny ledge. (The Herb Society of America can help you determine <a href="https://www.herbsociety.org/hsa-learn/intro-to-herbs/hsa-gardening-for-kids/light-indoor-gardens.html" target="_blank">the right dose of light and water for each species</a>.) In a few weeks' time, you'll be ready to add a sprig of fresh basil to your bowl of pasta or diced cilantro to your batch of guac.</p><p><strong>Arrange a plant-based recipe swap</strong> with friends and family, which will reduce your diet's climate impacts while creating some virtual community. (Remember: If <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sujatha-bergen/saving-planet-starts-our-plates" target="_blank">every American cut just one hamburger</a> or about a quarter pound of beef out of their diet each week, we could reduce emissions by as much as taking about 10 million cars off the road each year.)</p><p><strong><br>Simmer your veggie scraps into a </strong><a href="https://savethefood.com/recipes/basic-vegetable-stock" target="_blank"><strong>flavorful stock</strong></a>, the foundation of your next meal. To get started, keep a clean, half-gallon carton in the freezer, and add trimmings as you prep meals. When you have enough, put the veggies in a pot, cover with water, and crank up the heat.</p><p><strong>Plan a dough swap</strong> by freezing half of the dough from your latest baked good and suggesting friends, family, and coworkers do the same. When you're reunited, you can organize a trade and enjoy someone else's baking for a change.</p><p><strong>Start an indoor compost bin.</strong> It shouldn't smell when you follow this <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/composting-way-easier-you-think" target="_blank">list of what is and isn't compost-friendly</a>. To build your worm bin, find two plastic tubs and <a href="https://nrdc.tumblr.com/post/118984184239/how-to-build-a-worm-bin" target="_blank">drill holes in one of them</a> to provide proper aeration. Layer in moist bedding—made of things like shredded newspaper, leaves, or coconut husk—and then add some red wigglers, which you can order online. Kept well fed with scraps, your worms will soon be producing "black gold" compost to use in your garden and helping you curb greenhouse gases.</p>
Enjoy a Dose of Nature
<p><strong></strong><strong>Make your own basic bird feeder</strong> using pine cones, twine, nut butter, and birdseed. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-rxsVfAvaa/" target="_blank">This video from the Feminist Bird Club shows you one way to do it.</a> Hang it on a nearby tree you can spot through your window, then grab a pair of binoculars and do some armchair birding!</p><p><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-and-why-be-seed-savior" target="_blank"><strong>Create an herbarium</strong></a>—a scrapbook of pressed, dried flowers or other plants. To prepare your samples, press the plant matter in a large book or between sheets of newspaper and place a weight on top. When the leaves are dry, mount them on acid-free paper to preserve them, and label each specimen on the page. You can also include illustrations, photographs, seed packets, and notes.</p><p><strong>Sharpen your naturalist ID skills.</strong> Try to identify every species of plant in your backyard or on a neighborhood walk. You can do the same for wildlife—and share your findings through <a href="https://www.projectnoah.org/" target="_blank">Project Noah</a>, a citizen science platform to discover, share, and identify wildlife.</p><p><strong>Grow new indoor plants</strong> with the use of stems and leaves, rather than seeds. Though it <a href="https://www.bbg.org/gardening/article/how_to_propagate_houseplants" target="_blank">depends on your individual plant</a> species, propagating houseplants is often as easy as cutting off a stem or leaf from an existing plant and sticking it in soil or fresh water. If it takes, a new root system should form within a few weeks—leaving you with a hearty second plant within a few more months. (Pro tip: This works for green onions too! Nearly submerge their sliced-off roots, end down, into a glass of water that you change every few days. Voilà: a nearly endless supply of scallions.)</p><p><strong>Observe monarch butterflies</strong> in your backyard and share your findings with Monarch Watch, an organization devoted to their <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/monarch-butterflies-get-head-start-schoolyard" target="_blank">conservation</a>. Each year, monarchs make a remarkable 3,000-mile trek from as far north as the southern parts of Canada to the mountains of Mexico and back—but these pollinators are <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sylvia-fallon/monarch-butterfly-numbers-fall-again" target="_blank">in danger</a>. Register as one of Monarch Watch's citizen scientists to <a href="https://monarchwatch.org/calendar/?fbclid=IwAR1bawlAoraeMokwdiZa_GVONQqtDnqQxc_EM_UwzbO0zhq733PT6CQIgLc" target="_blank">help track the population's health</a>.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-turn-your-patch-earth-barren-bountiful" target="_blank">Boost your backyard biodiversity</a>. </strong>Plant some milkweed—the main food source for monarch caterpillars and egg-laying habitat for the butterflies. Hang a bee nesting box somewhere it can get sunlight and warmth. Add a barn owl box or attach a simple roosting perch to a pole. For reptile enthusiasts, set up a small wood pile, using brush or old logs as shelter for lizards and snakes (plus fungi).</p>Do Some Handiwork and Art Projects
<p><strong>Make face masks </strong>for your friends, family, and workers on the frontlines. This <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/DIY-cloth-face-covering-instructions.pdf" target="_blank">Center for Disease Control guide</a> breaks down different techniques. If you're comfortable sewing, you'll just need two 10-by-6-inch rectangles of fabric, two pieces of elastic, and a needle and thread for each mask. The no-sew option only requires a T-shirt and scissors. Remember: Cloth masks should be cleaned regularly (the CDC says a washing machine is sufficient) in order to remain effective.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Get your crayons out </strong>and do some therapeutic coloring. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and as part of a collaboration with NRDC, Studio Number One and its creative director, artist Shepard Fairey, have converted some of its archival activist artwork into <a href="http://www.studionumberone.com/free-downloads" target="_blank">black-and-white printouts for at-home coloring.</a></p><p><strong>Tackle your plastic bag stash</strong>, especially if your city or town is among those that recently banned the bag. Since current conditions may eliminate collection and recycling programs for plastic bags in your area, consider upcycling them instead. There are plenty of online tutorials for how to make outdoor pillow cushions stuffed with plastic bags, weave bags into <a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-basket-out-of-plastic-bags/" target="_blank">sturdy baskets</a>, or wind them into jump ropes.</p><p><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/purging-your-closets-dont-stuff-all-your-old-duds-trash-bag" target="_blank"><strong>Cut down on textile waste</strong></a>, which exacts a <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/are-my-denim-jeans-bad-environment" target="_blank">heavy toll on the environment and public health</a>, by giving old clothes a second life. Alter out-of-style garments by embroidering, reshaping, or using nontoxic dye to give them a new look. Take inspiration from fashion designers like <a href="http://zerowastedaniel.com/about" target="_blank">Daniel Silverstein</a>, who makes colorful, collaged clothing out of fabric scraps, or turn old fabric into a work of art, like weaver <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/weaving-beauty-borderlands" target="_blank">Consuelo Jimenez Underwoo</a>d.</p><p><strong>Turn old beach towels or T-shirts into </strong><a href="https://www.papernstitchblog.com/how-to-make-reusable-paper-towels/" target="_blank"><strong>a set of cloth napkins</strong></a>, a perfect beginner-level sewing project. By ditching single-use paper towels and napkins, you'll be helping to protect our forests, like the boreal of Canada that is the source of the virgin wood pulp used for much of the tissue paper products sold in the United States. Instead, switch to more sustainable, washable rags or cloths for cleaning up around the house and at the dining table.</p><p><strong>Get crafty with your recycling efforts</strong> to encourage kids <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-raise-environmentalist" target="_blank">to be more aware of our disposable culture</a>. For example, you could transform empty jars into vases, penholders, and votive candle holders. Or make a fresh notebook from scrap paper with the help of a hole punch and scissors, some ribbon, and an old cereal box (for making sturdy covers).</p>
Build Your Community
<p><strong></strong><strong>Start an environmental movie club.</strong> Various apps let you host movie nights with friends online, so you can chat while you watch. You can find our recs for standout environmental films on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-QNBxqJAUR/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>—including <em>Poisoning Paradise</em>, <em>Virunga</em>, and <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-turn-your-patch-earth-barren-bountiful" target="_blank"><em>The Biggest Little Farm</em></a>—with short summaries and tips on where you can find them online.</p><p>Document the environmental changes in your community<strong>, as they relate to climate change, through the </strong><a href="https://earthchallenge2020.earthday.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Earth Challenge </strong>2020's online portal</a>. The project will collect billions of observations in air quality, plastic pollution, and insect populations, and your insights will help promote policy change to address our warming world.</p><p><strong>Tune in to a new podcast</strong>. We recommend <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/range/hot-take-4#/" target="_blank"><em>Hot Take</em></a>, featuring NRDC's own Mary Heglar and her cohost Amy Westervelt, which takes a critical but constructive, intersectional look at how climates issues are being covered in the media. And despite the weighty content of the podcast, laughter is one of its defining sounds.</p><p><strong>Connect with climate justice activists</strong> by following along with <a href="http://thisiszerohour.org/our-actions/#actions" target="_blank">Zero Hour's Getting to the Roots digital series</a>. Each week, it focuses on a different theme that is a root cause of the climate crisis as well as ways to solve it—through digital leadership training, webinars, virtual open mics on Instagram and Twitter, art competitions, and podcast releases.</p><p><strong>Write a </strong><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-write-successful-letter-editor" target="_blank"><strong>letter to the editor</strong></a> that tackles one of the environmental issues facing your community that's close to your heart. The letter can be written in response to a piece that's already been published by a given media outlet, or it can be a proactive statement of support for or opposition against a particular issue that affects fellow readers. It's the perfect way to reach thousands of individuals and still remain publicly engaged without having to leave the comfort of your home.</p>Related Articles Around the Web
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
A monarch butterfly on a southbound journey rests in Dilworth Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2018. Bastiaan Slabbers / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Both Eastern and Western monarch butterflies are seeing their populations plummet precipitously, worrying scientists that the future of the species is in peril, according to multiple surveys of butterfly populations.
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/science/monarch-butterfly.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> recently reported on efforts to track the Western monarch butterfly, which spends its winter on California's central coast before heading off to breeding sites that covers a wide swathe from the state's central valley all the way to Idaho. However, recently it's been harder to find migrating butterflies.</p><p>"Something's going on in early spring," said Cheryl Schultz, a professor at Washington State University in Vancouver, to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/science/monarch-butterfly.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. Researchers know that winter survival isn't the issue in the short-term, she said.</p>
<p>The researchers do not know if butterflies are not making it to breeding sites, unable to find mates, or starving along the way. What they do know is that the population of Western monarchs was in the millions in the 1980s, down to 200,000 three years ago, and then down to 30,000 in 2018, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/science/monarch-butterfly.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>Matt Forister, an insect ecologist at the University of Nevada, Reno, told the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/science/monarch-butterfly.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> that research identified various factors in butterfly loss, including development, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>, farming practices and widespread <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides">pesticide</a> use by farmers and on lawns.</p><p>On the other side of the country, expect to see far fewer Eastern monarch butterflies migrating over the summer. According to a new population survey, the Eastern monarch has passed the extinction threshold, according to a new population survey by the <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/eastern-monarch-butterfly-population-plunges-more-half-2020-03-13/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a>.</p>
<p>An annual count showed that the population in 2020 dropped 53 percent from its already low 2019 numbers. "Scientists were expecting the count to be down slightly, but this level of decrease is heartbreaking," said Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity in a statement. "Monarchs unite us, and more protections are clearly needed for these migratory wonders and their habitat."</p><p>As <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/number-of-monarch-butterflies-wintering-in-mexico-down-by-more-than-half/" target="_blank">Mongabay</a> reported, the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas of Mexico teamed up with WWF-Mexico, local communities and other partners to carry out an annual survey of the forest habitat covered by monarch butterflies that migrate from the U.S. and Canada. The area of forest inhabited by monarchs in Mexican forests is then used to estimate the monarch butterfly population.</p><p>The amount of land they covered was about seven acres, down from 15 acres in 2019.</p>
<p>The Western monarch, which is slightly smaller and darker than the Eastern monarch, has a more constrained migratory pattern. While the Eastern monarch travels from Mexico all the way to New England and Canada, the Western monarch tends to stay around California, traveling as far north as British Columbia and east as far as the Rockies, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/science/monarch-butterfly.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. However, in recent years, it has narrowed its path and does not make it as far as Washington.</p><p>Researchers and environmental advocates point out that stemming the climate crisis, reducing pesticide use and planting pollinator gardens could help the butterflies recover.</p><p>"Butterfly populations are bouncy," said Schultz to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/science/monarch-butterfly.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "While we think the situation right now is very concerning, we do think there's a lot of potential to turn it around."</p>
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A monarch butterfly before migration to Mexico on Oct. 21, 2018 at the Mobile Botanical Gardens in Alabama. patricia pierce / CC BY 2.0
The yearly count of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico, released Wednesday, shows an increase of 144 percent from last year's count and is the highest count since 2006. That's good news for a species whose numbers had fallen in recent years, but conservationists say the monarch continues to need Endangered Species Act protection.
The count of 6.05 hectares of occupied forest is up from 2.48 hectares last winter. The increase is attributable to favorable weather during the spring and summer breeding seasons and during the fall migration. Monarchs have lost an estimated 165 million acres of breeding habitat in the U.S. to herbicide spraying and development.
<p>"This reprieve from bad news on monarchs is a thank-you from the butterflies to all the people who planted native milkweeds and switched to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/organic">organic</a> corn and soy products," said Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a>. "But one good weather year won't save the monarch in the long run, and more protections are needed for this migratory wonder and its summer and winter habitats."</p><p>In 2014 conservationists led by the Center for Biological Diversity and the <a href="https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org" target="_blank">Center for Food Safety</a> petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the butterfly under the Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service's initial decision was that <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered species</a> protection may be warranted, and a final decision will be issued by June.</p><p>"The question is whether the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a> administration wants to do <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/monsanto">Monsanto</a>'s bidding or protect monarchs for future generations," said George Kimbrell, legal director at the Center for Food Safety. "This year's count is a temporary reprieve that doesn't change what the law and science demands, which is that we protect monarchs under the Endangered Species Act before it's too late."</p><p>As recently as the mid-1990s, monarchs covered nearly 21 hectares of forest in their wintering ground, falling to less than 1 hectare in 2014. Scientists estimate that 6 hectares is the threshold to be out of the immediate danger zone of migratory collapse.</p><p>About 99 percent of all North American monarchs migrate each winter to oyamel fir forests on 12 mountaintops in central Mexico. Scientists from <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_offices/mexico" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund Mexico</a> estimate the population size by measuring the area of trees turned orange by the clustering butterflies.</p><p>Monarch butterflies west of the Rocky Mountains overwinter on the coast of California. Their numbers dropped to fewer than 30,000 this year, down from 1.2 million two decades ago.</p><p>A recent study found that if current trends continue, the western population has a 63 percent chance of extinction in 20 years and more than an 80 percent chance of extinction within 50 years. The western population is now at the threshold of extinction. </p><p>The caterpillars only eat milkweed, but the plant has been devastated by increased herbicide spraying in conjunction with corn and soybean crops that have been genetically engineered to tolerate direct spraying with herbicides. In addition to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/glyphosate">glyphosate</a>, monarchs are threatened by other herbicides and by <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/neonicotinoids">neonicotinoid</a> insecticides that are toxic to young caterpillars.</p><p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">Climate change</a> also threatens to disrupt the monarch's migration and render its overwintering habitats unsuitable by the end of the century.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTEzNjQyOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjA2MjE3N30.oe5oOw7WcI-wa2e2-8981jfHaI7ka_87xgUfbxp7zgM/img.jpg?width=980" id="b06de" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8ca07e8f528c639da5531a2bb3520fee" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Graph by Tierra Curry, Center for Biological Diversity</small></p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="1695e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="FGZGOT1576663068"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1067428243706470401" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">5 Ways to Make a Difference in the Life of a #Monarch @HFSciencePub @jnp_mn @BetteAStevens https://t.co/ZDP5MNdneR</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1067428243706470401">1543329699.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Monarch butterfly on swamp milkweed. Jim Hudgins / USFWS
The population of monarch butterflies that spend winter along the California coast dropped 86 percent since 2017, according to a recent count by the Xerces Society, an invertebrate conservation group.
Preliminary results from the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count, an annual citizen science program, recorded less than 30,000 butterflies overwintering in California, a significant decline from the estimated 192,000 in 2017. The official numbers will be released later this month.
<p>
Emma Pelton, a Xerces Society
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered species</a> conservation biologist, wrote in a <a href="https://xerces.org/2018/11/29/critically-low-monarch-population-in-california/" target="_blank">blog post</a> that the initial results are "disturbingly low" and perhaps "catastrophic."
</p><p>
"While overwintering populations naturally fluctuate, even by double digit percentages, the magnitude of this year's drop is of significant concern because the monarch population was already at a new low after the 97 percent decline it has experienced since the 1980s (
<a href="https://www.westernmonarchcount.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Western-monarch-PVA_Schultz-et-al.-2017.pdf" target="_blank">Schultz et al. 2017</a>), leading to a situation which may be catastrophic for the western population," Pelton wrote.
</p><p>
The 30,000 butterflies counted is the average quasi-extinction population size—or "the number of adult butterflies needed to ensure persistence of the western monarch population," Pelton explained.
</p><p>
It is not yet clear why their numbers were so low in 2018, although prolonged
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drought" target="_self">drought</a>, a late rainy season, as well as smoke and poor air quality caused by the region's devastating <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires">wildfires</a> could be to blame, Pelton suggested. </p><p>
<span></span>The latest count adds to more bad news for the iconic species, whose numbers have precipitously declined. </p><p>
"In my lifetime, the monarch population in California has gone from millions of butterflies to hundreds of thousands and now, possibly, mere tens of thousands," Pelton wrote, noting that one
<a href="https://www.westernmonarchcount.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Western-monarch-PVA_Schultz-et-al.-2017.pdf" target="_blank">study</a> estimated 4.5 million monarchs overwintering in California in the 1980s.
</p><p>
"Next year will be a real test in how resilient the western monarch population is, after its California overwintering population has been reduced to less than 0.5 percent of its historical size," she added.
</p><p>
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/monarch-butterfly-population-migration-2543505935.html" target="_self">Scientists warn</a> that the black-and-orange butterflies—known for their annual, 3,000-mile migration from the U.S. and Canada to Mexico—is at risk of extinction.
</p><p>
<span></span>Overall, the monarch population has dropped by more than 80 percent over the past two decades. Their disappearance has been linked to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/monarch-butterflies-climate-change-milkweed-2556267321.html" target="_blank">climate change</a>, habitat loss, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides">pesticides</a> and reduced milkweed, a native wildflower and main food source for monarch caterpillars and the only plant on which adult monarchs lay their eggs.
</p><p>Despite the grim report, there are ways you can help the survival of the beloved species, which are also crucial
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pollinators">pollinators</a> for many different kinds of wildflowers.
</p><p>
"While western monarchs are facing unprecedented challenges right now, there is still hope that we can recover the population if we work quickly, strategically and together," Pelton said.
</p><p>
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/save-monarch-butterflies-2621306160.html" target="_blank">Learn more about how you can help</a>.
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</p><div id="1695e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="I75F8A1576683776"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1067428243706470401" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">5 Ways to Make a Difference in the Life of a #Monarch @HFSciencePub @jnp_mn @BetteAStevens https://t.co/ZDP5MNdneR</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1067428243706470401">1543329699.0</a></blockquote></div>
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The Migration and Importance of Monarchs
Monarch butterflies, which pollinate many different kinds of wildflowers, are among nature's great wonders. Their annual migration is one of the most awe-inspiring on Earth: Each fall, millions of these striking black-and-orange butterflies take flight on a 3,000-mile journey across the U.S. and Canada to wintering grounds in Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains.
<h4>The Population Plummet</h4><p>The monarch population, which is determined by measuring the number of hectares the butterflies occupy in their Mexico habitat, has declined to <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sylvia-fallon/monarch-butterfly-numbers-are-year-remain-low" target="_blank">2.48 hectares</a>—almost 30 percent less than last year's population. The population has been in steady decline for the past 20 years—reaching a high of more than 20 hectares in 1997 and plunging to 0.67 hectares in 2014. Two decades ago, nearly one billion wintering monarchs blanketed the mountain forests of Mexico. Today, that number has dropped by more than 80 percent.</p><h4>Herbicides and Milkweed</h4><p>Heavy use of an herbicide called <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/jennifer-sass/pruitts-epa-defending-monsantos-glyphosate-herbicides" target="_blank">glyphosate</a> (marketed by Monsanto as Roundup) has greatly diminished milkweed, a native wildflower that is the sole food source for monarch caterpillars and the only plant on which adult monarchs lay their eggs. As milkweed disappears, monarch populations have also plummeted, and the annual migration of monarchs to Mexico is in danger of collapse. And yet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sylvia-fallon/epa-gets-it-wrong-enlist-duo-again" target="_blank">reapproved the registration for Dow's Enlist Duo</a>, a combination herbicide designed to kill milkweed.</p><h4>Solutions?</h4><p>Much effort has gone into planting milkweed throughout the continental U.S. in the past several years in an attempt to make up for the milkweed that has been lost through agricultural practices. <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/8-ways-attract-bees-and-butterflies" target="_blank">Planting milkweed</a> is a great way to help other pollinators, too, as it provides nectar to a diverse suite of bees and butterflies.</p><p>But this year's monarch butterfly population demonstrates that we need to do much, much more if we are going to be successful at building its population back up again to secure numbers. We also need to curb the use of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides">pesticides</a> that are eliminating milkweed in the first place and come up with sustainable solutions—not just for butterflies, but for farmers and our public health.</p><h4>How NRDC Is Helping Secure a Healthy Future for Monarchs</h4><p>NRDC envisions a future where monarch populations across North America are healthy and resilient. To achieve this, we're working at the federal, state, and international levels to secure limits on the use of toxic herbicides and create new milkweed habitat.</p><p>We're taking <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/court-battles/natural-resources-defense-council-v-e-scott-pruitt-et" target="_blank">legal action</a> against the EPA to win restrictions on toxic herbicides, such as <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/glyphosate">glyphosate</a>, that are killing off native milkweed. And we're calling on agribusiness companies to withdraw their toxic products. At the state level, we're working with officials to plant new milkweed habitat along the monarchs' migration route. Internationally, we're leveraging pressure by petitioning UNESCO's World Heritage Committee to upgrade its protection of monarch wintering habitat in Mexico.</p><h4>Recent NRDC Milestones in the Fight to Save Monarchs</h4><p>We mobilized more than 113,000 of our members and activists to sign a petition demanding Dow AgroSciences remove Enlist Duo from the market. Not only that, we generated an outcry against Enlist Duo in Congress that included signatures from 32 lawmakers calling on the EPA to take a closer look at the devastating health and environmental impacts of this herbicide.</p><p>On the global arena, we ramped up international pressure, including 50,000 petitions from NRDC members and activists, on the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2015/150413" target="_blank">declare the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico in danger</a> due to the destruction of monarch habitat in the U.S. and Canada by glyphosate. In response, UNESCO launched a formal evaluation of the request.</p><h4>NRDC and Monarch Watch Planting Milkweed</h4><p><a href="http://monarchwatch.org/" target="_blank">Monarch Watch</a> is a nonprofit educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas that focuses on the monarch butterfly, its habitat, and its spectacular fall migration. NRDC partners with Monarch Watch to plant milkweed at schools, churches and garden clubs to help save North American monarch butterflies.</p><p>Since 2016, Monarch Watch has been distributing milkweed plants, featured in this <a href="https://act.nrdc.org/donate/mothers-day-ecard-180509?source=WBSMOMDON" target="_blank">Monarchs for Moms campaign</a>, for planting on tribal lands and other locations along the monarchs' migration route.</p>
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Climate Change and Invasive Milkweed Could Make Toxic Cocktail for Monarchs, Study Finds
04 April 2018
Animals
Monarch butterfly on milkweed. randy matthews / Flickr
Monarch butterflies are already in danger. Their numbers have decreased by 80 percent in the past 20 years, and this year's count of the number of the black-and-orange butterflies wintering in Mexico was lower than 2017's.
Now, researched reported Tuesday in a Louisiana State University (LSU) press release reveals that two human-caused environmental concerns could combine to pose another deadly threat to monarchs in the future: climate change, and the spread of non-native species.
<p style="">The study, published Tuesday in the journal Ecology, looked at the effect of higher temperatures on a non-native, tropical variety of milkweed or Asclepias curassavica.</p><p>Tropical milkweed is commonly sold in garden stores in the southern U.S., and monarch butterflies thrive on it under current conditions. </p><p style="">As the press release explains, all varieties of milkweed contain cardenolides, chemicals that are toxic to most predators but that monarchs have evolved to tolerate. By laying their eggs on milkweed, monarchs protect their offspring, and the caterpillars that hatch render themselves unappetizing to predators by feasting on the chemicals.</p><p style="">Tropical milkweed has more cardenolides than the native Asclepias incarnata, and currently the higher level is good for monarchs. Adult butterflies that feed on A. curassavica weigh more and are more likely to survive than butterflies that feed on less-toxic, native varieties. </p><p style="">But this could change with the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/">climate</a>. The study found that warmer temperatures increase the cardenolides in A. curassavica to the point where they poison monarch larvae, delaying larval growth and stunting adult forwings. Native milkweed is not similarly impacted. </p><p style="">LSU Department of Biological Sciences associate professor Bret Elderd, one of the study's authors, said that his research demonstrates how climate change impacts the relationships between individual species. </p><p style="">"A lot of global climate change research focuses on a single species, and how that species will be affected by climate change," Elderd said in the LSU release. "But we know that in reality, species interact, and they are often tightly linked together."</p><p>The research also indicates how climate change can render harmful behaviors that used to be adaptive.</p><p>"If I'm a monarch butterfly, and I'm responding to past environmental conditions, I'll lay my eggs on A. curassavica," Elderd said in the release. "But under conditions of global warming, I'll be doing my offspring a disservice without knowing it."</p><p style="">Elderd was joined in his research by graduate student Matthew Faldyn and Mark Hunter of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan.</p><p>In order to replicate temperatures projected for Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the next 40 years, researchers constructed small greenhouses around the tropical milkweed plants. They found that cardenolides increased after three days.</p><p style="">Faldyn said he hoped to use the research to educate plant sellers and gardeners about the importance of planting native milkweed as climate change continues. </p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="4e4a1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="VCLTWH1576663050"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="971143524312862720" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Monarch Butterfly Migration Could Collapse, Scientists Warn https://t.co/mTsJarndNz @worldresources @globalgreen</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/971143524312862720">1520373633.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Mark Heatherington / Flickr
The yearly count of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico, released Monday, shows a decrease from last year's count and confirms the iconic orange and black butterfly is still very much at risk. The count of 2.48 hectares of occupied winter habitat is down from 2.91 hectares last winter.
Overall, monarchs have declined by more than 80 percent over the past two decades.
<p>"Another year, another reminder: Our government must do what the law and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/science/">science</a> demands, and protect monarchs under the Endangered Species Act, before it's too late," said George Kimbrell, legal director at the Center for Food Safety. "The remaining question is whether the Trump administration wants to do <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/monsanto">Monsanto</a>'s bidding or protect monarchs for future generations."</p><p>"We could lose the monarch butterfly if we don't take immediate action to rein-in <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides">pesticide</a> use and curb global <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/">climate change</a>," said Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> and co-author of the 2014 petition to protect monarchs under the ESA.</p><p>Roughly 99 percent of all North American monarchs migrate each winter to oyamel fir forests on 12 mountaintops in central Mexico. Scientists estimate the population size by measuring the area of trees turned orange by the clustering butterflies. That population has been dangerously low since 2008. In the mid-1990s the population was estimated at nearly one billion butterflies, but this year's population is down to approximately 93 million butterflies. </p><p>This year's drop is attributed in part to unseasonal weather last year including late spring freezes that killed milkweed and caterpillars, and an unseasonably warm fall that kept late-season monarchs from migrating.</p><p>In 2014 conservationists led by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Food Safety petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to protect the butterfly under the Endangered Species Act. Monarchs are threatened by a host of sources destroying their habitat and food, but studies have shown that a main source of their catastrophic demise decline has been <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/gmo-genetically-modified-organism/">genetically engineered crops</a>, engineered with resistance to Monsanto's <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/roundup">Roundup</a> pesticide, which has dramatically increased the pesticide use on their habitat. The Fish and Wildlife Service's initial decision was that <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered species</a> protection may be warranted, and pursuant to a court victory the USFWS agreed to make a final decision by June 2019.</p><p>A 2016 study by the U.S. Geological Survey concluded that due to ongoing low population levels, there is between an 11 percent and 57 percent risk that the eastern monarch migration could collapse within the next 20 years. Scientists estimate the monarch population needs to reach 225 million butterflies to be out of the danger zone. </p><p>Monarchs have lost an estimated 165 million acres of breeding habitat in the U.S. to herbicide spraying and development. The caterpillars only eat milkweed, but the plant has been devastated by increased herbicide spraying in conjunction with corn and soybean crops that have been genetically engineered to tolerate direct spraying with herbicides. In addition to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/glyphosate">glyphosate</a>, monarchs are threatened by other herbicides including <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dicamba">dicamba</a>, Enlist Duo and by <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/neonicotinoids">neonicotinoid</a> insecticides that are toxic to young caterpillars.</p><p>Monarch butterflies west of the Rocky Mountains overwinter on the central coast of California. Their numbers dropped to a five-year low of only 200,000 butterflies this year, down from 1.2 million two decades ago. A recent study found that if current trends continue, the western population has a 63 percent chance of extinction in 20 years and more than an 80 percent chance of extinction within 50 years.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="83ba0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="BQH3M31576663082"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="969576516190375936" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Groundbreaking ‘Airbnb for Butterflies’ Now Open for Business, Donations https://t.co/RkuscKKzTm @NRDC @NWF @DavidSuzukiFDN @SierraClub 🦋</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/969576516190375936">1520000029.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releases/5283/annual-monarch-count-shows-butterfly-still-threatened" target="_blank">Center for Food Safety</a>.</em></p>
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Murdo Morrison / Flickr
The monarch butterfly has a new chance at recovery, thanks to an innovative program seeking to crowdsource funding and habitat for the beloved species at an unprecedented scale and pace.
"The Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange is a market-based solution for restoring and conserving high-quality monarch habitat on America's private working lands," said David Wolfe, director of conservation strategy and habitat markets at Environmental Defense Fund. "We like to call it an 'Airbnb for butterflies' because it's the only program of its kind that can open the vast untapped potential of large-scale farms and ranches to make habitat available for monarchs, fast."
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320717304809" target="_blank">Studies</a> estimate that the monarch butterfly's population has declined by 95 percent since the 1980s.</p><p>"The monarch faces a June 2019 deadline for an Endangered Species Act listing decision," Wolfe said. "To change the monarch's trajectory and avoid the need for restrictive regulations that often accompany a listing, we need to restore millions of acres of native milkweed and wildflowers across the butterfly's vast migration route."</p><p>"Agricultural lands make up roughly half of the acreage required to recover the monarch," Wolfe added, "so recruiting farmers and ranchers who manage these large-scale landscapes will be a game changer."</p><p>Through the exchange, landowners are paid to create, maintain and improve habitat on their property through a variety of restoration activities.</p><p>"The exchange incorporates robust <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/science/">science</a>, close monitoring and transparent reporting to ensure that each dollar achieves the most bang for the buck, and for the butterfly," Wolfe said.</p><p>Potential investors and donors include food, chemical and seed companies, state farm bureaus, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a> agencies, philanthropic organizations and concerned citizens. All funds raised through the exchange are directed to <a href="http://biodiversityworksmv.org" target="_blank">Biodiversity Works</a>, a Texas-based nonprofit responsible for administering the program.</p><p>"We anticipate a broad range of private and public funding sources from various companies, associations and individuals looking to achieve corporate <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sustainability">sustainability</a> goals, maximize <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a> outcomes, and ensure that the monarch butterfly stays off the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered species</a> list," Wolfe said.</p><p>Smithfield Foods, a global food company that is also the world's largest hog producer and pork processor, is the first food company to participate in the program, contributing $300,000 to restore key prairie habitat for monarchs in Missouri. Smithfield invested in this project because of its multiple sustainability benefits, including providing habitat for pollinators, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/water">water</a> quality benefits, carbon sequestration and biomass for biogas revenue.</p><p>"Participating in the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange is a commitment to our employees, our producers, and our customers who care about wildlife and the multiple other environmental benefits that this program will achieve," said Kraig Westerbeek, senior director of Smithfield Renewables and Hog Production Division Environmental Affairs for Smithfield Foods. "We want to do our part to make sure that monarchs continue to thrive and play their significant role in our ecosystem."</p><p>The exchange is currently focused on developing projects in Missouri, Texas and California. Projects range from full prairie restoration to supplemental planting of milkweed within marginal agricultural fields. Milkweed is vital to monarch success, since butterflies lay their eggs and caterpillars feed exclusively on the milky sap-filled plant.</p><p>Amy Greer is a sixth-generation rancher in Brady, Texas. She and her husband, George, decided to participate in the exchange to help re-establish native milkweed and wildflowers on their ranch. Amy is also a trained wildlife biologist.</p><p>"George and I both understand how important <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity">ecological diversity</a> is for all the plants, animals, insects and birds that live here on the ranch aside from us and our cattle," Amy said. "We also understand the importance of pollinators to the larger food system, so anything we can do to improve habitat for bees and butterflies is important to us."</p><p>Landowners, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/agribusiness">agribusiness</a> leaders, philanthropic foundations and concerned citizens can help support projects on the ground by contacting the exchange or donating through the <a href="http://www.monarchhabitatexchange.org/" target="_blank">Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange</a> website.</p>
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</p><div id="da19f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="G5UJYW1576662752"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="943217593850236928" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">EPA Considers Allowing Bee-Killing Pesticide to Be Sprayed on 165 Million Acres of U.S. Farmland… https://t.co/LuWNIFxIRx</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/943217593850236928">1513715573.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0
Dicamba—a drift-prone herbicide linked to millions of acres of off-target crop damage across in 17 states—destroys mostly everything in its path except the crops that are genetically engineered to resist it. It's so damaging that several states, including Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri have introduced temporary bans on the weedkiller.
There's now another reason to worry about the controversial chemical. It's particularly harmful to milkweed, the only host plant for the iconic and already at-risk monarch buttery.
<p style="">
In a new report publisehd Thursday, researchers with the
<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> warn that the expanded use of dicamba, which is projected to increase by nearly 100-fold on cotton and soybean fields, will put more than 60 million acres of monarch habitat at risk by 2019.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="27d95" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="977WIQ1576683844"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="969268965640982528" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: In our new report we found that within two years, dicamba will be used on more than 60 million acres of c… https://t.co/7LB9dWaBXB</div> — Center for Bio Div (@Center for Bio Div)<a href="https://twitter.com/CenterForBioDiv/statuses/969268965640982528">1519926704.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
Here are some key findings from the paper:
</p><ul class="ee-ul">
<li><strong>Accelerating harm:</strong> In addition to 61 million acres of monarch habitat being directly sprayed with dicamba, an additional 9 million acres could be harmed by drift of the pesticide.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul">
<li><strong>Deadly timing:</strong> The timing and geographical distribution of dicamba use coincides precisely with the presence of monarch eggs and larva on milkweed.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul">
<li><strong>Double trouble:</strong> Dicamba degrades monarch habitat both by harming flowering of plants that provide nectar for adults as they travel south for the winter and by harming milkweed that provides an essential resource for reproduction.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul">
<li><strong>Greater menace to milkweed:</strong> Research has shown that just 1 percent of the minimum dicamba application rate is sufficient to reduce the size of milkweed by 50 percent, indicating it may have a greater impact on milkweed growth than the already widely used pesticide glyphosate.</li>
</ul><p style="">
Populations of the once-common butterfly
<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/bill-nye-on-glyphosate-we-accidentally-decimated-the-monarch-butterfly-1882073954.html" target="_blank">have plummeted</a> approximately 80 percent in just the last two decades. A major threat to the species is its loss of habitat due to the lack of availability of <a href="http://www.nwf.org/Garden-For-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants/Milkweed.aspx" target="_blank">milkweed</a> through land conversion for agriculture, removal of native plants and the use of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" target="_blank">pesticides</a>.
</p><p style="">
"America's monarchs are already in serious trouble, and this will push them into absolute crisis," said Nathan Donley, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, and author of the report, <a href="http://www.menacetomonarchs.org/" target="_blank"><em>A Menace to Monarchs</em></a>.</p><p style="">
"It's appalling that the EPA approved this spraying without bothering to consider the permanent damage it will do to these butterflies and their migration routes."
</p><p style="">
The paper notes that in 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's approval for expanded use of dicamba included nearly 500 pages of ecological analyses, but "glaringly omitted any mention or examination of the threat to monarchs."
</p><p style="">
For the study, the researchers examined monarch habitat and projected dicamba usage rates in the coming years, which is estimated to reach about 57 million pounds annually. They produced an
<a href="http://cbdnet.info/public/monarchs/" target="_blank">interactive map</a> showing the locations and time when monarch eggs and larva were sighted, along with the locations and timing of when cotton and soybean crops may be sprayed with dicamba.
</p><p style="">
The Center for Biological Diversity says the EPA has refused to take the necessary action to address the harms caused by the chemical.
</p><p style="">
"There's no question that use of dicamba across tens of millions of acres will deepen risks to our dangerously imperiled monarch populations," said Donley. "When dicamba's use on GE cotton and soybeans comes up for reapproval later this year, the only responsible thing for the EPA to do is allow that approval to expire."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzM4NTY5NC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5NjE0Mzk4Nn0.lM_eU3IU6YDqsp1F0Sd1qqZOgFmybmvHgGS2vKXH8i8/img.png?width=980" id="9e7c1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5c3ed1b56cd151763d4ff168c32e0720" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">From the study: "This indicates that dicamba will be used across the South, East and Midwest at the precise time of year when milkweed is absolutely essential to perpetuate the northern migration of monarchs."</small>
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By Alicia Graef
While international efforts are underway to help keep dwindling populations of monarch butterflies from disappearing, scientists are raising concerns about how severe weather and a loss of forest habitat at their wintering grounds in Mexico are affecting them.
Every year, monarchs embark on an epic multigenerational migration that takes them thousands of miles from Canada and the U.S. in search of sites in California and Mexico. The fir trees in the southern regions offer the shelter and warmth they need to survive the winter.
Unfortunately, these vital forests in Mexico have been threatened by illegal logging and now storms have destroyed hundreds of acres of habitat, while severe weather is believed to have killed an estimated 6.2 million of these iconic butterflies.
"Since the forests provide the microclimate needed for butterflies to survive the winter, illegal logging must be eradicated and degraded areas need to be restored," Omar Vidal, CEO of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Mexico, said. "This would help the monarch butterfly to better adapt to extreme climate events and also provide local communities with sustainable economic alternatives."
According to WWF, while illegal logging is believed to have declined significantly over the past year, habitat degradation is still a problem and now climate change is posing another problem.
These fragile butterflies already face high mortality rates along their route from other threats that range from predators and parasites to a loss of habitat along their migration path. They travel north in the spring in search of milkweed plants—the only plant that monarchs lay eggs on and caterpillars eat. But these plants are being destroyed by the herbicide glyphosate, which is sprayed on fields where genetically modified Roundup-ready corn and soy crops are grown.
Holding Monsanto Accountable for Growing Public Outcry Over the Dangers of Glyphosate - EcoWatch https://t.co/EboABDmPnQ @GMWatch @gmo917— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)1471556108.0
According to the Xerces Society, in the 1990s, an estimated one billion monarchs made this migration, but over the past 15 years, they've lost millions of acres of habitat and the number of monarchs has steadily dropped by 80 percent or more by some estimates.
The good news is that these butterflies are not without advocates working to help them recover. Individuals are working in their gardens and communities to improve butterfly habitat. Conservation organizations are working on other measures, including seeking endangered species status for monarchs and working on habitat restoration.
Farmers Key to Bringing Monarch Butterflies Back From the Brink of Extinction https://t.co/lJIOFtgYut @globalactplan @foeeurope— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)1455712520.0
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation recently announced more than $3 million in grants from its Monarch Butterfly Conservation Fund, which were matched for a total of $9 million, will be used to restore approximately 16,000 acres of key habitat to support monarchs' survival.
For more information about ways to get involved in efforts to save monarchs that include creating habitat or participating in citizen science projects, visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Save the Monarch and the Monarch Joint Venture.
If you're looking for milkweed plants, check out the Xerces Society's Milkweed Seed Finder and Monarch Watch's Milkweed Market, which both offer native seeds and seed guides by region for planting.
This article was reposted with permission from our media associate Care2.
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