BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - The Monarch Butterfly will not be added to the Endangered Species List this year, despite a national decline in population.
The Western Monarch population has gone down from 1.2 million in 1997 to fewer than 30,000 last year. Preliminary surveys from this year have only found about 2,000 according to the Associated Press
The Monarch Butterfly has gone south for the winter, many making it as far as Mexico, but despite promising numbers here in the Green Mountain State in recent years, out of sight doesn’t mean out of mind for Vermont’s experts.
“It has to be put off for a while, while they have other listing priorities,” said Mark Ferguson, a zoologist with the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.
He says the federal government acknowledged the Monarch Butterfly qualifies for protection under the Endangered Species Act, but it will have to wait behind 161 other identified at risk species.
Now that it has been identified, however, it will be reviewed annually.
Ferguson says in Vermont, although not what they used to be, they are showing in better numbers than just a few years ago. And the Monarch is on the state list of species with greatest conservation need.
While the state does have 130,000 acres in Vermont dedicated to wildlife management, they are still looking to do more.
“We are looking to increase pollinator habitat in any way we can on our own lands,” said Ferguson.
And they’re asking you to consider their annual visitors as well.
“Some have the thought that, okay we can wait, but I kind of question when you see a decline like that, what might happen over just the course of the next few years,” said Steve Smith, the director of animal care and facilities at the Echo Leahy Center.
Smith says where federal protection falls short, the responsibility is left to Vermonters to step up. He says Vermonters can leave the lawn to grow longer, especially in June or July when the butterflies are set to make their landing here.
“Monarchs need two major things really. Nectar sources for the adults, that’s a food source, and also a food source for the caterpillars as they develop and that would be the milkweed,” said Ferguson.
And for aesthetic purposes as well as environmental health, he says to set up a pollinator garden with native flowers. Ferguson says the best type of plants for nectar sources are native plants like golden rods and asters, if they are native.
While Vermont will continue to monitor the population when the butterflies return, Ferguson says losing the Monarch could have a ripple on an entire ecosystem.
And Smith says it’s about more than just one butterfly.
“There is this wealth of information that we don’t even know about yet in the diversity of life that’s out there and we shouldn’t eliminate, we should try to keep around,” said Smith.
Ferguson also noted that if you are interested in creating a better space for Monarchs or have questions about using land to support the butterfly population you can reach out to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department for more information and help.
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Vermont's state butterfly will have to wait for federal protections - WCAX
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