Jason E. Andersen

Bonus (not so?) Fun Fact: Despite news you may have heard, the Monarch butterfly has not been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). However, it was listed as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. These two things are not the same and the news is causing some considerable confusion. Monarchs are not immune to misinformation, it seems.

This morning I received an email saying that “the monarch was officially listed as an endangered species today.” If you’re like me, and follow conservation issues, you would likely jump to thinking the Monarch was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, the legislation that regulates the conservation of threatened and endangered species and their habitats in the United States. I was excited and somewhat surprised. I read the attached article and realized they were talking about something very different. The headline was misleading, as they say.

Shortly thereafter, another email came to my inbox from the Monarch Joint Venture with some clarification. I’ll put it below:

Hi MJV Partners,

Today our phones have been ringing off the hook with media interest around the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announcement that it has added migratory monarchs to their “red list” as endangered. We also are seeing a lot of social media and even journalism that is not accurate on this topic. 

Please note: The IUCN announcement is completely separate from anything related to the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Monarchs HAVE NOT been listed as endangered under the ESA.

Please make sure in your social media posts that it’s clear: the IUCN Red List is not connected to the USFWS Endangered Species Act. The IUCN announcement will be great for continuing awareness about the great need for monarch conservation – but it does not have the same ramifications as an ESA listing in the U.S.

Thanks very much, and feel free to reach out with any questions.

Warm regards,
Stacy Carlson
MJV Communications

Not the news I was hoping for, but a step in the right direction all the same. I wanted to share this with all of you to help keep you informed.