The Fish and Wildlife Service will miss by well over a country mile its deadline for deciding whether to protect the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act.
One year after its Dec. 12, 2024, proposal to list the monarch as threatened, the federal agency indicated that a final decision is at least nine more months away.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continues to evaluate the monarch butterfly using the best available science and in accordance with all requirements of the Endangered Species Act,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon, adding that “the administration remains committed to a regulatory approach that is transparent, predictable, and grounded in sound science.”
The spokesperson’s statement said the agency “does not expect to issue a final determination within 12 months” of the Sept. 22, 2025, publication of the Trump administration’s most recent “Unified Agenda.” The published agenda identifies executive agency actions expected to occur within the next year and the September edition didn’t mention the monarch.
