Want to avoid additional (and costly) regulations? Help protect the Monarch Butterfly.

By: Morgan Bappe-Cordova, Project Scientist & Lucy Harrington, Senior Regulatory Specialist & Project Manager

Welcome to a blog on the fascinating world of the Monarch butterfly. With its stunning orange and black wings and its incredible annual migration, this little creature never fails to captivate us. Picture this: an epic journey spanning thousands of miles, all the way from Canada to Mexico. Talk about resilience and adaptability for an incredibly small animal! In addition to being beautiful and impressive travelers, Monarch butterflies are also prolific pollinators.

But hold on a minute, we’re not here just to sing the praises of the Monarch. Alarming downward trends in this butterfly’s population have raised significant concerns about the future of the Monarch throughout its range. That’s why experts and stakeholders from all over the country have come together to discuss the concerning decline in Monarch butterflies. In this blog, we’ll connect the dots between the decline of the Monarch to potential impacts on your development projects across the country.

The Monarch Faces Headwinds

Here’s the deal: the Monarch butterfly faces some serious challenges throughout its range. These include habitat loss due to urbanization, agriculture, and pesky pesticides. The natural areas that used to be havens for the Monarch are being turned into developed landscapes. Don’t even get me started on herbicides! Herbicides have led to a loss of milkweed plants, which are essential for the butterfly’s reproductive cycle. Oh, and climate change and extreme weather events haven’t helped either. They’ve messed up the availability of suitable habitats and disrupted migration timing. All of this has been tough on the butterfly.

But fear not: the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) is on the case. They’ve recognized the urgency of the situation and are working hard to assess the Monarch’s status. The USFWS is collecting scientific data and information about populations, habitats, and threats to better understand the butterfly’s status. All this information will help determine if the Monarch should be listed as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Thanks for taking action, USFWS!

How could listing the Monarch affect your projects?

Listing the Monarch butterfly as a threatened or endangered species would provide legal protection and recovery measures for our winged friends. It would also mean that the USFWS would develop and implement a recovery plan to address threats and promote actionable conservation and restoration actions for the butterfly and its habitat.

Let’s talk briefly about the potential impact this might have on your development projects. If the Monarch butterfly gets listed, developers and businesses, from energy to transportation, to mines and real estate, would have to conduct comprehensive environmental impact assessments. These assessments are all about understanding how a project might impact the environment and, more importantly, the species that call that environment home. Whenever a project could affect a listed species or its habitat, these evaluations are a must—and they need to be wrapped up before any development work kicks off. And developers would also have to implement conservation measures to minimize those impacts. This might mean adjusting project timelines and budgets to comply with consultation requirements or implementing long-term land management actions. So yes, that means more paperwork.

But wait, there’s more! Obtaining permits to impact endangered species or their habitats can be a complex and time-consuming process, one that requires careful consideration and planning. Developers might need to consult with regulatory agencies, experts, and stakeholders to make sure they’re not causing harm to the Monarch butterfly and its habitats. And, sometimes, they may even have to offset the impacts by contributing to habitat restoration or conservation elsewhere.

How the CCAA Opens a Door

Luckily, there’s an immediate solution: a program called the Monarch Butterfly Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA). This voluntary program, developed in partnership with the USFWS, is all about getting landowners, businesses, and stakeholders involved in the conservation of the Monarch butterfly and its habitats. It’s a team effort for our butterfly friends.

The Monarch CCAA takes a proactive approach to conservation. It encourages landowners, businesses, and stakeholders to implement measures supporting the butterfly’s needs now – not waiting for the Monarch to be listed under the ESA. This could mean planting milkweed and nectar-rich flowers, managing vegetation to create suitable breeding and foraging areas during key times of the year, and reducing or eliminating pesticide use in butterfly hotspots to create a Monarch paradise.

And here’s the sweetest part: participants who voluntarily enlist in the CCAA program and implement these self-directed measures will receive assurances from the USFWS that they won’t face additional regulatory requirements or restrictions if the Monarch butterfly gets listed as a threatened or endangered species. This gives landowners and businesses certainty and incentives to engage in proactive conservation actions that benefit the butterfly. A win-win situation.

Now, here’s where things get really cool. The Monarch CCAA is all about collaboration between the private sector and conservation organizations. By participating in this program, developers and landowners can contribute to the recovery of the Monarch butterfly while also ensuring compliance with potential regulatory requirements in the future.

In the face of these challenges, it’s essential for developers to embrace innovative approaches in project design and execution. Collaborating with conservation experts and staying updated on the ever-evolving regulatory landscape can help developers navigate the complex process and contribute to the Monarch butterfly and its habitats.

And let’s not forget about implementing best practices for sustainable land management, like preserving and restoring habitat and reducing pesticide use. Together, we can turn things around for our Monarch Butterflies.

Contact Lucy Harrington and Morgan Bappe-Cordova to learn more about the Monarch Butterfly CCAA and how GEI can help bring these benefits to your organization.