Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a long-time leader in the fight to revive the population of the iconic Western Monarch butterfly—today issued the following statement after the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced a proposed rule to list the monarch butterfly as ‘threatened’ under the Endangered Species Act (ESA):
“Our monarchs are in grave danger. We’ve all experienced the moment of childhood joy and excitement when we spot a butterfly dancing in the air, and their beauty contributes to the health of our planet too. So many of the crops we rely on for sustenance depend on pollinators. Listing the species as threatened is a step in the right direction to save not just the iconic Western Monarch, but all monarchs.
“I have been raising the alarm for years about the many threats to pollinators, including habitat destruction, deadly pesticides and herbicides, and extreme weather fueled by climate chaos. This designation under the Endangered Species Act confirms what we have known to be true all along: the monarch butterfly is in danger of extinction if we fail to take bold action to protect them.
“State, local, Tribal, and private entities must continue to work together to help monarchs recover. This is the only path forward to save our monarchs.”
For more than half a century, the ESA has protected and saved some of America’s most iconic species, from grizzly bears to humpback whales and the American bald eagle. The monarch butterfly’s designation under the ESA lists the species as ‘threatened’ in an effort to protect their habitat and existence from extinction.
For years, Merkley has led a series of actions to revive the populations of monarchs and other pollinators, like honeybees. His efforts include hosting Monarch Butterfly Summits in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior, the first of which announced a $1 million investment in the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Pollinator Fund and established a Pollinator Conservation Center at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As Chair of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that funds the Interior Department, he secured more than $18 million in dedicated funding for monarch and pollinator conservation. Merkley also introduced and passed the bipartisan Monarch and Pollinator Highway Act and introduced the Pollinator Power Act, which would incentivize pollinator habitats surrounding new solar projects carried out through the Rural Energy for America Program. He is also behind the MONARCH Act and the Pollinator-Friendly Plant Labeling Act.
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