The iconic insect was set to be listed as threatened in December of last year. When the administration stalled, conservation and wildlife advocacy groups filed a lawsuit to compel the administration to act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it will now issue a final ruling in June 2030. Since the 1990s, monarch butterfly populations have declined by 80%.
Kristen Baum, director of the group Monarch Watch, said the decline is largely due to habitat loss, including a drop in milkweed plants, the only plants monarch caterpillars eat.
"We're still losing habitat to urbanization and other activities. Having enough milkweed and nectar plants out there on the landscape and also shelter for those overwintering months are really important and all of those have factored into the decline," Baum outlined.
As climate change makes weather patterns less predictable, researchers say hot or cold snaps can impact the migration and reproduction of monarchs. One of the other major drivers of habitat loss is the avocado industry in Mexico, which uses monarch overwintering grounds for land to grow the fruit.
The monarch butterfly embarks on one of the longest migrations of any species on the planet, leaving Canada in the spring to travel to Mexico. The monarch, which is the weight of a paper clip, flies as many as 3,000 miles in a single migration cycle.
Baum explained while federal protections would be welcome, they require resources to back them up and make an impact in supporting monarch populations.
"When you talk about supporting and expanding and enhancing, all of that requires funding, which would be the other piece behind that would influence how effective some of these actions would be," Baum emphasized.
The Trump administration has protected fewer species under the Endangered Species Act than any other presidential administration in history. The administration has also worked to roll back protections for wildlife, issuing new directives allowing for the accidental killing of protected species.