The Trump administration has moved the Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan to list monarch butterflies as threatened into a "long‑term action" category, postponing a decision that had been expected by the end of 2025. Conservationists say monarch populations are in sharp decline, with eastern monarchs estimated to face a 57%–74% chance of extinction by 2080 and western monarchs a 95% chance. The proposed protections would restrict killing and transport, permit limited educational use and designate 4,395 acres of California wintering habitat as critical.
Trump Administration Delays Monarch Butterfly Protections, Listing Moved To 'Long‑Term Action'
FILE - A monarch butterfly feeds on milkweed Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)
MADISON, Wis. — The Trump administration has indefinitely postponed a decision on whether to extend federal protections to monarch butterflies by placing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's proposed listing into a "long‑term action" category. The move, disclosed in a September regulatory-status report from the Office of Management and Budget, means the decision will not come during the current regulatory year.
The Fish and Wildlife Service had announced in December 2024 — near the end of President Joe Biden’s term — that it intended to list the monarch as threatened by the end of 2025, calling the species “iconic” and “cherished across North America.” Agency officials stressed that any final listing must be grounded in the best available scientific and commercial data.
An agency spokesperson told The Associated Press the administration remains "committed to a regulatory approach that is transparent, predictable and grounded in sound science," and emphasized a preference for voluntary, locally driven conservation over broader federal regulation.
Why Conservationists Are Alarmed
Environmental groups say the delay is dangerous given steep declines in monarch populations. When agency experts outlined the planned listing in December 2024, they estimated eastern monarchs face a 57%–74% probability of extinction by 2080, and western monarchs face a 95% probability by the same year.
"It’s absolutely disappointing because monarchs need all the help they can get," said Tierra Curry, co‑director for endangered species at the Center for Biological Diversity, which petitioned for protections in 2014 and sued the agency in 2022 to force a decision.
What the Proposal Would Do
The proposed rule would generally prohibit killing or transporting monarchs and would limit actions that permanently render habitat unusable. Individuals could still move fewer than 250 monarchs and use them for educational purposes. The plan also proposes designating about 4,395 acres (1,779 hectares) in seven coastal California counties as critical wintering habitat for western monarchs, restricting federal actions that would destroy or modify those sites while not outright banning all development.
Regulatory Context
The decision follows broader moves by the administration to prioritize oil and gas production and to narrow blanket protections for threatened species, shifting toward species‑specific rules that can slow the listing process. Conservationists warn such policy shifts, combined with habitat loss and climate change, imperil the long‑term survival of monarchs.
Requests for further explanation of the specific rationale behind the delay were not immediately answered by the Fish and Wildlife Service.
