The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposes listing the monarch butterfly as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, following decades of failed voluntary conservation efforts. The December 12, 2024 proposal comes as butterfly populations face extinction risks. Stark Population Decline From 4.5 million western monarchs in the 1980s, numbers have plunged by more than 95%. The eastern population, once 380 million strong in the mid-1990s, has dropped approximately 80%. Scientific models project a greater than 99% chance of western monarch extinction by 2080, while eastern populations face 56-74% extinction probability. Agricultural Impact Assessment Two 1990s farming developments have decimated … Continue reading Monarch Butterfly Decline: USFWS Proposes Protection Amid 95% Drop, 99% Extinction Risk by 2080