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By 12/23/2020
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service says protections for monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act are necessary but less pressing than those for other species on the brink. The decision comes as biologists report the lowest numbers in history for the western population of monarchs, which overwinters on California’s coast.
The federal agency was compelled to consider listing monarchs by litigation from the Center for Food Safety, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Xerces Society, which rang the alarm about the decline of both the eastern population which has declined over 70 percent and the western population which has almost disappeared due to climate change, pesticide use and habitat loss. As the groups celebrated the validation of the species’ plight last week, West Marin organizations geared up to take action now.