Commentary: PF & QF acknowledge voluntary, incentive-based opportunities for habitat as the No. 1 strategy to restore the iconic monarch butterfly – Outdoor News
Last week, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever encouraged private landowners and public land managers to help identify innovative strategies to restore quality pollinator habitat in the United States in light of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed threatened status of the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act.
The proposal initiates a 90-day public comment period that began Dec. 12, with a final listing decision coming next year.
The proposed listing comes after years of thorough assessment of monarch butterfly populations, including a “warranted but precluded” status in 2020 due to higher-priority listing actions. Presently, eastern migratory populations of monarch butterflies have declined by more than 80% since the 1980s, and western migratory populations by more than 95% in the same timeframe.
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Loss of breeding, migratory, and overwintering habitat, including food sources along established migration corridors and throughout the blooming season, remain among the top threats for monarch butterflies.
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s mission to create high-quality habitat for pheasants, quail, and other upland species directly intersects with the monarch butterfly. That very same habitat, filled with diverse grasses and forbs (flowering plants) is critical for all pollinators, but essential for the monarch.
PF & QF have been among the nation’s leaders in pollinator-friendly habitat, implementing 392,864 acres of high-quality habitat for pollinators and planting more than 1.3 billion milkweed seeds – an essential component for the monarch life cycle and migration habitat – during the past decade, following more than 42 years of grassland conservation efforts.
“Beginning in 1982, the mission of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever has been to restore grassland ecosystems for the benefit of pheasants, quail, and other wildlife. When you consider the web of life, it’s no coincidence our 28.8 million acres of wildlife-habitat improvements have delivered tremendous benefits for monarchs and upland game birds,” said Marilyn Vetter, president and CEO of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. “Moving forward, our commitment is continued focus on the intersection between private and public lands, with myriad private and public partners, for the conservation of America’s grasslands.
“Likewise, our organization will continue to advocate for voluntary, incentive-based, grasslands-focused programs for landowners, farmers, ranchers, and hunters as the No. 1 strategy for recovering monarch populations.”
The 90-day public comment period for the listing status closes March 12, 2025. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever encourage farmers, ranchers, landowners, hunters, and any stakeholders who value monarch butterflies and associated pollinator habitat to submit comments (online at https://www.regulations.gov (referencing docket number FWS-R3-ES-2024-0137) to the USFWS on actions to help conserve this iconic species.
This docket also includes information about how to attend two virtual public information meetings and associated public hearings about this listing proposal.
You can reach that link quickly and read more about the proposal at the USFWS website.
To learn more about voluntary pollinator habitat programs and practices available to landowners, contact a Pheasants Forever or Quail Forever biologist in your area.
Wiklund is director of communications for Pheasants Forever, Inc., and Quail Forever.
