last week, the monarch butterfly
was officially designated as
endangered by the international
union for conservation of
nature.
My colleague Ali rogin has more
on the significance of the move
and what's behind the decline.
Ali: The iconic monarch
butterfly can be found across
almost all of North America, but
today it faces threats from
habitat destruction to climate
change.
Part of why these butterflies
are vulnerable is they migrate
thousands of miles annually to
California and central Mexico
for the winter.
When the weather warms up in the
spring, they reproduce and make
the journey north.
Along the way, they cluster in
colonies to stay warm, and lay
their eggs exclusively on
milkweed plants.
Over the last several decades,
scientists estimate that the
population has dropped between
20% and 90%.
For more on what it means for
our ecosystem, I am joined by
Scott Hoffman black, the
executive director of the xerces
society, a nonprofit that
focuses on invertebrate
conservation.
Thank you so much for joining
us.
Why is the monarch butterfly
population declining so much?
Scott: It is declining because
of us.
Unfortunately, the way we grow
our food, the way we build our
homes and have our yards doesn't
leave much room for animals like
the monarch that are fly.
-- Butterfly.
Habitat loss because of
industrial agriculture and lots
of lawns, lots of pesticide use,
we use a lot of pesticides both
in our food and to keep our
roses and lawns perfect.
And you overlay that was climate
change, which is one of the
factors.
Ali: We mentioned the
international designation.
What does that mean for monarch
butterflies, and how is it
different than a designation by
the U.S. Fish and wildlife
service?
Scott: This is an international
designation by a really
well-established international
group, the international union
for conservation of nature.
This new report or analysis
doesn't have any policy
ramifications in the united
States, but what it does do is
put a spotlight on this animal
and how imperiled it really is
and the actions we should start
to take to recover it.
Ali: Experts will note the
monarch population does
fluctuate year to year.
Is what you are seeing now
outside of that kind of standard
deviation?
Scott: Certainly.
The vast majority of scientists
that have looked at the data, it
is compelling data that shows
that the monarch has been on a
decline since the 1980's,
certainly since the 1990's.
In the west, we've seen in over
95% decline in monarchs in
California.
In the east, between 70% and 80%
decline depending on how you
look at it.
The verdict is in, this
butterfly is declining.
Ali: Most of us are familiar
with monarchs, we know their
beautiful patterns.
In some cultures they carry
important spiritual
implications.
Why does it matter that the
populations are declining for
the ecosystem?
Scott: It matters for a
widespread insect like this.
Insects like monarchs are food
for so many animals come up
birds and other animals.
When we used to have hundreds of
millions of monarchs and maybe
into the tens of millions, when
you lose 100 million animals
that used to be food for other
animals, that is going to be
significant.
But the monarch is also
significant because as you
mentioned, so many people know
it.
It is really an umbrella
species.
Because people really love it,
they are willing to take action
to protect it, and by protecting
it, they are protecting bees and
other butterflies as well.
This iconic species can help
well beyond itself.
Ali: Are there other species you
would say fall under the
category of hoping the monarch
butterfly will ring attention to
them?
Scott: Yes, the monarch
butterfly is kind of our
charismatic species.
Those of us that work on
insects, people don't always see
the small bees or more
diminutive butterflies.
What we do for monarchs, which
is protecting and storing
habitat and managing pesticide
use so we are not poisoning
areas, really helps this broad
suite of animals that live in
the same habitats.
It is neat, we can recover this
butterfly and help many other
species at the same time.
Ali: You mentioned some things
individuals can do, eliminate
pesticides.
Tell us more about what we can
do as a society and individuals
to help monarch butterflies.
Scott: We need action at all
levels.
We need policymakers to have
good, strong climate change
legislation like we might be
seeing coming on, because
climate change is a driver.
On an individual level, whether
you are a gardener, a farmer,
manager park or even a national
wildlife preserve, you can make
sure we've got milkweed in the
landscape, native milkweed is
the best.
As you mentioned, is the only
host plant for monarchs.
But also flowers.
Butterflies migrate long
distances and need lots of fuel.
Ali: We could help save the
population.
Scott, thank you so much for
your time.
Scott: Thank you for having me.