Before the Secretary of the Interior: petition to protect the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus plexippus) under the Endangered Species Act

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This petition seeks to protect the monarch butterfly by initiating the process with the USFWS to begin the review process that could lead to listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The authors believe that the best available scientific information indicates that the monarch butterfly is threatened in a significant portion of its range. The North American monarch population is significant because without it, the redundancy, resiliency, and representation of the species would be so impaired that the monarch would have an increased vulnerability to extinction. The migratory butterflies in eastern and western North America represent the vast majority of all monarchs in the world. Though monarchs are found in relatively small, peripheral, and introduced populations in tropical and subtropical locations outside of North America, these nonmigrating populations cannot conserve the genetic diversity and spatial distribution of the species and are themselves vulnerable to extirpation. This petition provides a species account/natural history of the monarch butterfly, discusses its population distribution and status, and details the threats to the species and in relation to the five listing factors of the Endangered Species Act. The petitioners request that the USFWS acts promptly to protect the species and to designate critical habitat and plan for the species' long-term survival and recovery. An extensive Works Cited is included. [See U15BCD01IDUS for www.regulations.gov listing.]

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ELECTRONIC FILE - Zoology

Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, Xerces Society, Brower L. 2014 Aug. Before the Secretary of the Interior: petition to protect the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus plexippus) under the Endangered Species Act. 159 p. Available at: http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/monarch-esa-petition.pdf. Posted 2015 Jan 8 by USDI Fish and Wildlife Service as supporting and related material, ESA species review process. Docket no.: FWS-R3-ES-2014-0056; document no.: FWS-R3-ES-2014-0056-0221. Available at: http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FWS-R3-ES-2014-0056-0221.