Posted on 12/12/2025 10:39:08 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration has delayed a decision on whether to extend federal protections to monarch butterflies indefinitely despite years of warnings from conservationists that populations are shrinking.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced during the waning days of then-President Joe Biden’s term in December 2024 that the agency planned to add the beloved backyard pollinator to the threatened species list by the end of 2025, calling the insect “iconic” and “cherished across North America.”
But the Trump administration quietly listed the effort as a “long-term action” in a September report on the status of federal regulatory initiatives.
The first Trump administration named the monarch a candidate for listing in December 2020. His second administration has made oil and gas production a centerpiece and has been working to strip away environmental regulations that impede development.
But environmentalists have warned that monarch populations are shrinking due to climate change and rural development. Fish and wildlife service experts said when they announced in December 2024 that they planned to list the butterfly that monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains face a 57% to 74% probability of extinction by 2080. Monarchs west of the Rockies have a 95% chance of becoming extinct by then.
The monarch listing proposal would generally prohibit people from killing or transporting the butterfly. People and farmers could continue to remove milkweed, a key food source for monarch caterpillars, from their gardens, backyards and fields but would be barred from making changes that would make the land permanently unusable for the species.
People could continue to transport fewer than 250 monarchs and could continue to use them for educational purposes.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
People and farmers could continue to remove milkweed, a key food source for monarch caterpillars, from their gardens, backyards and fields but would be barred from making changes that would make the land permanently unusable for the species.
I even planted some on the neighbors property................
It was easy.
LOL, thank you for doing your part. :-)
On my prior very rural property there was a lot of milkweed, and I encouraged it in areas where it didn't bother anything else. Even helped scatter the seeds when the pods opened. I don't have more than a few plants in my current location, which is more residential.
20 years ago the monarchs would stop at my prior property in big waves. It was always a great thrill.
These days, not so much, even on that property which is now owned by folks who, like me, encourage the milkweed. The numbers have dropped to almost nothing. But that's only a small sample, and populations don't always stop at the same places forever.
This is a Bee worthy story.
We spread seeds all along the New River. Then Helene hit. So we spread them again. It flooded again. Fingers crossed for this year.
We were loaded with Monarchs this year. They were hatching up to first frost.
Can’t this wait until other items have been considered and acted upon? I can even see discussing the fates of Honey Bees and any remaining effects of Colony Collapse Disorder, before we tackle the Butterfly issues.
Nothing to do with the butterfly. The butterfly is just another tool to bring about the glorious communist revolution.
I just went to the monarch grove in Pismo Beach CA at Thanksgiving. First visit in over 10 years. Not a lot of monarchs. There were a couple of telescopes set up so you could see a cluster or two. I know two visits isn’t enough to tell anything, but it was sparser than the last time I was there.
Maybe he can do an EO forcing them to be weed carriers and therefore protected under the interstate commerce clause.
The premise of “protecting” them is just plain foolish. Their breeding grounds are not in our country. And I hardly think that humans would be out their killing them in large numbers. Oh but if you do accidentally hit one with your lawn mower then they could throw you in jail.
Lots of them around here.
The "Orange Butterfly Bad" people ought to be happy.
This place is loaded with self-seeding milkweed and butterfly bushes.
Monarch heaven. The butterfly bushes are all named David:
Buddleja davidii
I'm doing my part. Sow away!
Jeremiah 33:17 For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;
The strange thing this year is that some of the milkweed pods didn't mature until November. I helped them out.
I need to get more milkweed. The plants I have are pretty much stripped bare. I try to encourage all pollinators not just butterflies. I certainly favor extending the protection for monarch butterflies.
I had a lot of milkweed in my beds this year, more than before since I transplanted some from a neighbor. My milkweed was teeming with caterpillars. Towards the end of August, we had a cold spell, so I bought some habitats and brought in 35 caterpillars. 31 survived to emergence from chrysalis, and flew away. It was a fun 6 week project. I felt like I was a foster Mom.
This is a HUGE deal. It literally means no property can be improved or even roads laid, because no milkweed can grow there, any more.
Who wrote this expectation up?
I hear they are good fried in light oil for 3 minutes
Bullshit, their populations increase and decrease every season, based on the climate conditions they face when migrating north and south......
Last year, my friend/s wife harvested a record number of monarch eggs in her back yard and raised them thru their entire life cycle and ultimately released the butterflies.
And not one of those idiots will be around in 2080 to be ridiculed for their bullshit predictions.
They most certainly are. Where do you think they migrate to lay their eggs and complete their life cycle?
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