There are over 1,200 species, either foreign or domestic, that are currently threatened or endangered according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Environmental Conservation Online System. The World Wildlife Foundation lists the monarch butterfly as “near threatened,” and many are seeing the crisis that they are facing as populations continue to dwindle with great alarm, leading the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to launch a campaign with $3.2 million in immediate backing.
A lot of money for butterflies, you might say? Not at all. The monarch butterfly is one of the most iconic in the world for its distinct bright orange and black coloring. The WWF’s species page explains, “The monarch butterfly exhibits the most highly evolved migration pattern of any known species of butterfly or moth and perhaps any known insect.”
While arguments against the campaign might say there are other species more endangered and in need of conservatory campaigns than the monarch, it’s important to see how delicate and easily changed the environment of the monarch is compared to that of many other endangered species.
“Monarchs are finicky about the temperature and their exact habitat, it turns out, and these narrow requirements make them especially vulnerable to climate change, loss of habitat and weather fluctuations, according to the recent petition,” Eve Conant explains for National Geographic News.
This is very different from other critically endangered animals, like the black rhino or the Amur leopard, for which there has been continuous work being done to bring them out of endangerment for much longer than the time period in which the monarch’s overall population has seen significant decrease. “The North American monarch population has declined by 90 percent over the past two decades. At its high in the winter of 1996-97, there were a billion monarchs. Today, there are only about 35 million,” Conant goes on to say.
Despite the fact that there are still 35 million monarchs in North America, that’s nowhere near the billion that there were just 18 years ago. In addition to the fact that they are such a recognized species, monarch butterflies are known pollinators and therefore are an indicator of the health of more than just themselves.
“Spectacular as it is, protecting the monarch is not just about saving one species. The monarch serves as an indicator of the health of pollinators and the American landscape. Monarch declines are symptomatic of environmental problems that pose risks to our food supply, the spectacular natural places that help define our national identity, and our own health. Conserving and connecting habitat for monarchs will benefit other plants, animals and important insect and avian pollinators,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recent press release said.
It sounds harsh but right now, monarchs seem more important than many of the other animals on the endangered species list. With their declining populations come the considerations of many other issues, such as farming with herbicides or even global warming, since those are two examples that are directly affecting them as well as us. For example, milkweed is the exclusive diet of monarch caterpillar, “But milkweed is in decline, a victim of the human battle against weeds. … The casualty of that is the loss of milkweed and of nectar-producing plants that are the foundation of the monarch migration" Dan Ashe, the director of the Fish and Wildlife Service explains.
$3.2 million becomes chump change in comparison to the importance of conserving the monarchs. From classroom butterfly kits to butterfly exhibits, losing the monarch butterfly will mean more than any monetary value.
Reach the columnist at Kayla.Chan@asu.edu or follow @KaylaRC2014 on Twitter.
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Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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