Monarch butterflies are heading south right now on a journey that ranks among the longest of any insect on Earth. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has just given itself until June 6, 2030, to make a final decision on protecting them under the Endangered Species Act. Monarchs can't afford that wait. The agency should finalize their protection as a threatened species now.

Monarch numbers have fallen by more than 80% since the 1990s, according to conservation groups. A federal review found that over the next 60 years, eastern monarchs face up to a 74% chance of going extinct. For western monarchs, the risk is as high as 99%.

The warning signs are already here. This past winter, eastern monarchs covered just 7.24 acres of forest in Mexico. Scientists estimate they need about 15 acres to stay out of danger of a migration collapse. Out West, fewer than 12,260 monarchs were counted, one of the lowest totals ever recorded.

Protection was expected by December 2025, but it was never finalized. Conservation groups had to go to court just to get a deadline. Now monarchs could go close to four more years without federal safeguards while milkweed disappears, pesticides spread, and their winter forests are cut down.

Scientists and conservationists first asked for help for monarchs back in 2014. A deadline is not the same thing as protection, and nothing stops the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior from acting sooner.

Monarchs belong to backyards, school gardens, and farm fields across North America. Losing their migration would be a loss for everyone, no matter where they live or how they vote.

Sign the petition to urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect monarch butterflies now, before their great migration is gone for good.