SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif.—This past month only 4 butterflies have been counted in Goleta’s Ellwood Mesa area. Last month that number was 34.
Many researchers say climate change is to blame, but now another culprit has been identified— pesticides.
“Because the monarch is migratory because it exists over such a wide area and has spends different parts of its lifecycle in different parts of the country. Pesticide exposure is an issue across all types of landscapes. That includes agriculture for sure, but also urban and residential land use,” said Director of Conservation Policy Rosemary Malfi.
Tuesday a petition was submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency to swiftly correct flaws in its framework for assessing pesticide risks to pollinators like the monarch.
This comes on the heels of last week’s proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the monarch butterfly as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
“In its proposed listing rule, the Fish and Wildlife Service says we know insecticides and herbicides are a big threat to monarch populations, but the service is actually unable to speak to the exact nature and extent of that threat,” said Earth Justice Biodiversity Defense Program attorney Sharmeen Morrison.