Farm organizations are encouraging farmers to provide feedback
The U.S. ag industry is responding after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is looking into listing the Monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
The designation, under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act, would allow lawmakers to customize prohibitions and regulate activities to provide conservation of the Monarch butterfly.
The western migratory population of these butterflies could be extinct by 2080, the USFWS says.
Organizations like the National Corn Growers Association are encouraging its members to provide feedback during the public comment period.
Protecting wildlife like the Monarch butterfly must take agriculture into account, said Kenneth Hartman Jr., president of the NCGA.
“As corn growers, we look forward to providing input on how we can protect Monarch butterflies without disrupting critical agricultural activities that help fuel and feed the world,” he said in a statement.
A member of the American Soybean Association board, Brandon Wipf, is the organization’s rep with Farmers for Monarchs, an ag organization dedicated to protecting the butterfly through conservation.
Any decision made on this issue must be transparent and science-based, he said.
“We welcome this opportunity to share our story and ensure any future listing decision is grounded in sound science and allows farmers the flexibility to continue growing soy productively, sustainably, and using practices that help Monarch populations thrive,” he said in a statement.
At least one member of the ag community, however, opposes the USFWS’s proposed listing.
Sid Miller, the agriculture commissioner in Texas, says listing the Monarch butterfly as threatened will bring multiple challenges to farmers and surrounding communities.
“This designation would slap widespread restrictions on anything that might ‘disturb’ monarch habitat, making it nearly impossible to build or expand in rural areas. We’re not just talking about farmland,” he said in a statement. “This will impact dairies, wind and solar farms, football stadiums, roads, airports, railways, feedlots, rural hospitals, parking lots, logging, and mining — you name it.”
As of Dec. 16, 135 comments have been received on this file.
Americans have until March 12, 2025 to provide feedback.