monarch-esa-petition-final_61585
monarch-esa-petition-final_61585
monarch-esa-petition-final_61585
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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa Prairie Resource Center are members<br />
of the Monarch Joint Venture and have active programs for <strong>monarch</strong> protection. The Prairie<br />
Resource Center has focused its efforts on generating native prairie seeds, including milkweeds,<br />
and their engagement with the Monarch Joint Venture has generated additional funding for<br />
milkweed seeds that will be propagated through prairie habitat in Iowa. While certainly helpful,<br />
these programs cannot be considered as regulatory mechanisms that are adequate to safeguard<br />
the <strong>monarch</strong>.<br />
California does not have a statewide plan to benefit <strong>monarch</strong>s, but <strong>monarch</strong> overwintering sites<br />
occur in many State Parks and on other land managed by state agencies in California. State Park<br />
rules prohibit visitors from collecting animals and disturbing <strong>monarch</strong> roost trees, which provides<br />
the butterflies with some protection from collection and disturbance. Each park has a General<br />
Plan which guides management, but only one of these plans specifically considers <strong>monarch</strong><br />
protection. The Leo Carrillo State Park General Plan considers <strong>monarch</strong>s and focuses on issues<br />
such as restoring native plants and maintaining overwintering sites for <strong>monarch</strong>s in non-native<br />
eucalyptus groves. None of the other parks specifically provide for <strong>monarch</strong> protection in their<br />
management plan, even if they are known to support large numbers of butterflies. Pismo State<br />
Beach, for example, provides a significant overwintering site for migratory <strong>monarch</strong>s, yet<br />
Pismo’s General Plan does not include any <strong>monarch</strong> specific management measures<br />
(International Environmental Law Project and Xerces Society 2012). While many parks do make<br />
good faith efforts to protect <strong>monarch</strong>s, the California State Park system does not provide an<br />
adequate regulatory mechanism for the protection of <strong>monarch</strong>s both due to the voluntary nature<br />
of <strong>monarch</strong> protection efforts and because it cannot provide protections for <strong>monarch</strong>s at the<br />
landscape scale.<br />
Local Mechanisms<br />
This <strong>petition</strong> does not attempt to analyze all county or city-level mechanisms that could provide<br />
some conservation benefit to <strong>monarch</strong>s because of the broad geographic range of <strong>monarch</strong>s.<br />
Though some areas may have programs in place that consider <strong>monarch</strong>s, these isolated programs<br />
are not an adequate replacement for range-wide regulatory protection. One example of a strong<br />
city ordinance that is beneficial to <strong>monarch</strong>s is the city of Capitola, California, which has<br />
adopted a year-round prohibition on the removal of trees within <strong>monarch</strong> habitat (with limited<br />
exceptions). The ordinance bars construction during <strong>monarch</strong> season, limits development in<br />
<strong>monarch</strong> habitat, requires developers to provide <strong>monarch</strong>-friendly landscaping, and mandates the<br />
collection of data both before and three years after construction to help develop a database for<br />
understanding environmental parameters associated with butterfly behavior (International<br />
Environmental Law Project and Xerces Society 2012). Unfortunately, this type of protection<br />
applies to a very small number of <strong>monarch</strong> sites and is an exception to the rule of weak or<br />
lacking protections. The vast majority of California’s <strong>monarch</strong> sites remain unprotected, with<br />
almost all jurisdictions allowing tree trimming without appropriate protection for <strong>monarch</strong>s.<br />
Overall, <strong>monarch</strong>s remain inadequately protected on city and county lands throughout the<br />
country.<br />
Monarch ESA Petition 84