Butterfly effect? NALC webinar will discuss impacts of listing monarch butterfly under Endangered Species Act
“When a species is listed, it can impact how agricultural producers are able to operate.” —Brigit Rollins
By Drew Viguet
National Agricultural Law Center
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Feb. 10, 2025
Fast facts:
- National Agricultural Law Center webinar will discuss details of proposed monarch butterfly listing
- NALC Staff Attorney Brigit Rollins is presenting
- Registration available online
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When a species is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, or ESA, it receives various protections — what impact could those protections have on agriculture?
That’s the question following the December 2024 proposal from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or FWS, to list the monarch butterfly as threatened under the ESA. Among other factors in its declining numbers, agricultural production and land use impact the butterfly by reducing milkweed habitat through land conversion and pesticide use, which disrupts their breeding and migration.
“This process began at least as far back as 2014 when various environmental groups submitted a petition to FWS to list the monarch butterfly,” said Brigit Rollins, staff attorney at the National Agricultural Law Center, or NALC. “A decade later, FWS agreed, proposing to list it as a ‘threatened’ species.”
Rollins will discuss what the designation of “threatened” means, as well as other components of the proposed listing and which aspects of the proposal would especially impact agriculture during the NALC’s Feb. 19 webinar. The presentation, “Monarch Butterfly: Exploring the Proposed ESA Listing,” begins at 11 a.m. Central/Noon Eastern and is free to attend. Registration is available online.
“When a species is listed, it can impact how agricultural producers are able to operate,” Rollins said. “In the case of the monarch butterfly, the proposed listing from FWS provides exemptions for agriculture and citizen conservation efforts. Other areas, such as pesticide restrictions, are unaddressed. It’s possible that details about pesticide use would be included in the final listing decision or in a separate rule.”
The listing is only a proposal for now and is open for public comment through March 12.
“The agency has requested feedback from commentors on a variety of topics, including possible economic impacts of the proposed decision and how to address pesticide uses," Rollins said. "Stakeholders can provide comments online."
Along with examining the proposed decision to list the monarch, Rollins will also address how the new presidential administration could impact a final rule.
"The administration has not addressed the monarch decision specifically, so it is not clear how it plans to proceed," Rollins said. "However, the webinar will discuss possible outcomes or administrative pathways that are available."
More information from Rollins on the proposed listing of the monarch butterfly is available online on the NALC website. For background on the ESA, visit the NALC’s Endangered Species Act Manual, authored by Rollins, and the ESA Reading Room.
For information about the NALC, visit nationalaglawcenter.org. The NALC is also on X, Facebook and LinkedIn.
About the National Agricultural Law Center
Created by Congress in 1987, the National Agricultural Law Center serves as the nation’s
leading source of agricultural and food law research and information. The NALC works
with producers, agribusinesses, state and federal policymakers, lenders, Congressional
staffers, attorneys, land grant universities, students, and many others to provide
objective, nonpartisan agricultural and food law research and information to the nation’s
agricultural community.
The NALC is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and
works in close partnership with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Agricultural
Library.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen
agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption
of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative
Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work
within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas
System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension
and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex,
gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital
or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and
is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Media contact:
Drew Viguet
Communications & Special Projects Coordinator
National Agricultural Law Center
dviguet@uark.edu