"I think for the general public and for a lot of scientists, it [might] feel kind of strange to have formal protections for something that spans the continent and reaches very high numbers in the summer," said Matt Forister, a plant and insect ecologist at the University of Nevada, Reno. "But I think that's a sign that the world is in that state, like the threats are that severe."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said if protections are still deemed necessary, it plans to submit a proposed rule to the Federal Register by Dec. 4, 2024. That rule would still be subject to public comment and possible revisions before taking effect.
The expectation from many monarch experts is that FWS will propose to list the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act as threatened not endangered with accommodations for some of the people and industries that interact with the migrating species day-to-day.
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