Wisconsin senator proposes law to make state butterfly the Monarch butterfly

MADISON, Wis (CIVIC MEDIA) – Wisconsin Senator Rachael Cabral-Guevara of Appleton introduced legislation to make the endangered Monarch Butterfly the state butterfly Monday.

State Senator Cabral-Guevara proposed the law at the Butterfly Garden of Wisconsin in Outagamie County. The monarch was categorized as endangered in 2022. The US Fish and Wildlife Service says since the 1980s, over 95 percent of the western monarch population has disappeared.

The department blames the monarch’s endangered status on habitat loss, climate change and pesticide use. Supporters hope that if the monarch becomes the state butterfly, greater awareness and support for the monarch’s protection and habitat conservation will follow.