USFWS admits monarch butterflies are endangered, but won't list them, citing higher priorities

The monarch butterfly is threatened with extinction, but will not come under federal protection because other species are a higher priority, federal officials announced Tuesday.

Monarchs have long captured human hearts, fluttering through yards, parks and fields on wings that look like miniature works of art. But their numbers have been decimated by climate-change-fueled weather events and pervasive habitat loss in the United States.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/15/climate/monarch-butterflies-endangered-species-list.html