The MONARCH Act was submitted with a clever moniker in March: Monarch Action, Recovery And Conservation of Habitat Act. Local Rep. Salud Carbajal tapped into his inner child to co-author the bill with Reps. Jimmy Panetta of Carmel and Jeff Merkley of Oregon. “We’ve all experienced the moment of childhood joy and excitement when we spot a butterfly dancing in the air,” said Senator Merkley. “If we let the western monarch butterfly go extinct, we’ll lose a unique, beautiful species forever.”
Welcome news but old news to the Sierra Club as we’ve been lobbying, calling for action, education and even conducting butterfly hikes BC (Before Covid). According to the club, and bolstered by the proposed act, there is “devastating evidence that the population of the butterfly, Danaus plexippus, has diminished in the Southern California region by 99.4% since the 1980s,” citing the Xerces
Society, a non-profit devoted to the conservation of invertebrates.
What can you do? Plant milkweed in your backyard. And support the legislation.
Suz Montgomery draws monarchs to her back yard.