We have all been seeing fewer monarchs this year. One possible explanation is the unusual spring weather. We will have to wait and see what the experts decide. Also, the buzz is out that monarchs have been put on the endangered species list. That is not quite accurate. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has the power to act on endangered species, still has monarchs listed as “warranted but precluded”; this means they recognize the danger but will not act. It is the International Union for Conservation of Nature that has put monarchs on its red list; this is encouraging, but they do not have the power to act. It is important to recognize the difference between these two organizations.
The other prominent news is the captive rearing of large numbers of monarchs and then releasing them. While this does keep the precarious population decline of monarchs in the public eye, it is not good procedure for helping the population. Please refer to the Monarch Joint Venture’s position:(monarch joint venture.org), which in short says that raising a few in your backyard is fine, but more than that is damaging.