One day after federal officials proposed monarch butterflies be listed as a threatened species, Texas’ agriculture commissioner called the move an example of federal government overreach that would cripple the state’s economy.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday it wants to add the iconic orange and black butterfly to the threatened species list following years of warnings from environmentalists that the insect’s numbers are dwindling.
The monarch butterfly, which is the state insect of Texas, flutters through the Lone Star State twice a year during colorful migrations north and south, thrilling nature and wildlife lovers. If added to the list, large landowners would essentially be barred from making making changes that would significantly harm the butterfly’s habitat.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said the designation would lead to widespread restrictions, making it nearly impossible to build or expand in rural America. Miller said the designation is part of a “heavy-handed, radical climate agenda.”
“The Biden Administration’s recent proposal to list the Monarch Butterfly as a threatened species is just the latest example of federal government overreach which cripples agriculture and rural development,” Miller said. “ Don’t be misled. This proposal isn’t about protecting butterflies. It’s about out-of-touch and out-of-control Washington bureaucrats forcing a radical agenda that punishes rural America and the people who call it home.”
Miller said the restrictions would not only affect farmland, but also dairies, wind and solar farms, football stadiums, roads, airports and more.
“This is not a balanced approach to conservation; it’s a roadblock to growth, jobs, and prosperity, all in the name of feel-good policies,” Miller wrote.
Federal protections would not restrict homeowners’ basic yard maintenance, routine farming and small-scale transport by schoolsand other groups for educational purposes. The agency is also proposing to protect nearly 4,400 acres in California as critical habitat.
The designation does not prohibit all development, but landowners who need a federal license or permit for a project would have to work with the wildlife service to mitigate damage.
The Center for Biological Diversity and other conservation groups petitioned the federal agency in 2014 to list the monarch as threatened. The agency launched a review of the butterfly’s status at the end of 2014, concluding six years later that listing was warranted but other species took priority. The center filed a federal lawsuit and won a settlement in 2022 that called for the government to decide whether to list monarchs by September 2024. The government secured an extension until this month.
Federal wildlife experts estimate that monarch populations east of the Rocky Mountains face a 56% to 74% chance of extinction by 2080 the agency said in a news release. Populations west of the Rockies have a 99% chance of extinction during the same time frame.
Conservationists blame the effects of climate change, agricultural expansion and herbicides that have slowed the growth of milkweed, the main food source for monarch caterpillars.
Even as Miller blasted the proposal, others in the agricultural industry sounded more favorable.
“Preserving natural surroundings for America’s wildlife has long been a priority for farmers and ranchers. That dedication extends to the monarch butterfly,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall wrote in a statement. “This opens the door for an important dialogue about farmers as caretakers and cultivators of the land. Our farm families treasure that responsibility.”
U.S. Fish and Wildlife is accepting public comments about the threatened species designation through March 12, 2025.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.