Western Monarch Butterflies Need Help - National Humane Education Society

Paws Up! H.R. 4350: The MONARCH Act would sustain and conserve the western monarch butterfly population.

August 22, 2023

Monarch butterflies are sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face when they flutter by. Not only are they beautiful, but they also play a vast role in creating healthy ecosystems, biodiversity, and our food supply. Sadly, over the last thirty years, the population of western monarch butterflies has declined by over 99 percent. Western monarch butterflies have declined due to a variety of factors, such as prolonged drought, loss of milkweed and their native pollinator habitat, loss of breeding and overwintering habitat, and climate change.

Representative Jimmy Panetta introduced the Monarch Action, Recovery, and Conservation of Habitat Act of 2023, or the MONARCH Act of 2023. H.R. 4350 was introduced on June 23, 2023. This bill would work to sustain and conserve the western population of monarch butterflies. If no action is taken to protect these pollinators, it is predicted that they will face extinction within the next twenty years.

If we want future generations to experience the same joy and benefits from these creatures, measures need to be taken immediately. Milkweed and nectar plants need to be actively restored, as well as their overwintering habitat. Once their habitats have been restored, they need to be protected from being destroyed in the future. The MONARCH Act of 2023 would bring much needed aid to western monarch butterflies and prevent their extinction.

Do you support the MONARCH Act of 2023? Please contact your legislators here.