John,

Millions of beautiful monarchs used to grace our skies, but their numbers have taken a nose-dive.1

There just aren't as many monarch butterflies as there used to be.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) just opened a public comment period to add monarchs to the endangered species list. Let's give these butterflies endangered species protections to aid their recovery.

Tell the FWS: Bring back the monarchs.

Right now, a super-generation of monarch butterflies is resting in the treetops for the winter.2

But when their hibernation ends this spring, monarchs will be hard-pressed to find enough milkweed on their journey back north.

Monarchs need milkweed -- it's the only food their babies will eat, and the only place where monarchs lay their eggs.3

Pesticides have all but wiped out the milkweed that used to be abundant on farms throughout the Midwest.4

Monarch caterpillars have very few places left to grow into beautiful butterflies. And as a result, each generation of monarchs is getting smaller and smaller.

But with more dedicated support from wildlife experts, these orange-and-black icons could get the support they need to flourish again.

Endangered species protections could be our last hope for the monarchs. Urge the Fish & Wildlife Service to protect monarch butterflies now.

For years, we've called on the Fish & Wildlife Service to add monarchs to the Endangered Species List. Every year they've waited, the situation for monarchs has gotten worse.

The eastern monarch population has declined by 80% since the 90's, and the western monarch numbers have plunged by as much as 95% since the 80's.5

But now, the agency is finally poised to give monarchs the protections they need to survive.

We only have until March 12 to generate enough supportive comments to help save the monarchs.

Add your name to help save the monarchs.

Thank you,

Ellen Montgomery

1. Emily Kwong, Nathan Rott, Rachel Carlson and Rebecca Ramirez, "Monarch butterflies may soon get protections under Endangered Species Act," NPR, November 25, 2024.
2. "Migration and Overwintering," U.S. Forest Service, last accessed November 29, 2024.
3. "Monarch Butterflies are in Trouble. What Can You Do? Plant Milkweed, Say Experts. Here's How," U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, September 24, 2014.
4. John M. Pleasants, et. al., "A comparison of summer, fall and winter estimates of monarch population size before and after milkweed eradication from crop fields in North America," U.S. Geological Survey, September 14, 2023.
5. Emily Kwong, Nathan Rott, Rachel Carlson and Rebecca Ramirez, "Monarch butterflies may soon get protections under Endangered Species Act," NPR, November 25, 2024.