II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 857 

To encourage and facilitate efforts by States and other stakeholders to conserve and sustain the western population of monarch butterflies, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 16, 2023 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. PADILLA, 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. 

WYDEN, and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

A BILL 

To encourage and facilitate efforts by States and other stakeholders to conserve and sustain the western population 

of monarch butterflies, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Monarch Action, Re5 covery, and Conservation of Habitat Act of 2023’’ or the 

6 ‘‘MONARCH Act of 2023’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 857 IS

1 (1) the population of western monarch butter2 flies is at imminent risk of extinction; 

3 (2) over the past 3 decades, the population of 

4 western monarch butterflies has declined by more 

5 than 99 percent due to prolonged drought, loss of 

6 milkweed and native pollinator habitat, loss of breed7 ing and overwintering habitat, and climate change; 

8 (3) in 2020, the population of western monarch 

9 butterflies reached a new historic low of 1,914 but10 terflies, falling below the predicted extinction thresh11 old for the third year in a row; 

12 (4) the extinction of the population of migra13 tory western monarch butterflies is now likely to 

14 occur within the next 2 decades if urgent action is 

15 not taken; 

16 (5) actively restoring native milkweed and nec17 tar plants, monarch overwintering habitat, and other 

18 pollinator habitat, and ensuring that key habitats 

19 are protected from destruction, are critical to ensur20 ing the survival of western monarch butterflies and 

21 can also help facilitate conservation of other essen22 tial pollinators; and 

23 (6) enhancing pollinator populations can result 

24 in improved pollination services for neighboring land, 

25 including agriculture and wildlife ecosystems. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 857 IS

1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’ 

4 means the use of each method or procedure nec5 essary to protect habitats of western monarch but6 terflies and other pollinators within the range of 

7 western monarch butterflies, including— 

8 (A) the protection, restoration, and man9 agement of overwintering, breeding, and migra10 tory habitats; 

11 (B) assistance in the development and im12 plementation of national, regional, State, Trib13 al, and local conservation and management 

14 plans; and 

15 (C) community outreach and education. 

16 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the West17 ern Monarch Butterfly Rescue Fund established by 

18 section 5(a). 

19 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of the Interior. 

21 (4) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

22 government’’ means the governing body of a feder23 ally recognized Indian Tribe. 

24 (5) WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY.—The 

25 term ‘‘western monarch butterfly’’ means the mon26 arch butterfly population that overwinters along the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 857 IS

1 coast of the State of California and breeds across 

2 the States of California, Arizona, Nevada, Wash3 ington, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah. 

4 SEC. 4. WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION 

5 GRANT PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

7 funds and in consultation with other relevant Federal 

8 agencies, amounts deposited in the Fund shall be available 

9 to the Secretary to provide grants for projects for the con10 servation of western monarch butterflies, and other polli11 nators within the range of western monarch butterflies, 

12 for which project proposals are approved by the Secretary 

13 in accordance with this section. 

14 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 

15 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity that is eli16 gible to receive a grant for a project under this sec17 tion is— 

18 (A) a relevant local government or Tribal 

19 government agency, research institution, or 

20 nonprofit organization with expertise required 

21 for the conservation of western monarch butter22 flies and other pollinators within the range of 

23 western monarch butterflies; and 

24 (B) any other entity, as determined appro25 priate by the Secretary, with the expertise reVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:18 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S857.IS S857

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 857 IS

1 quired for the conservation of western monarch 

2 butterflies and other pollinators within the 

3 range of western monarch butterflies. 

4 (2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.— 

5 A State or Federal agency— 

6 (A) may not be a lead entity or receive a 

7 grant for a project under this section; but 

8 (B) may be included as a partner or col9 laborator on a project that receives a grant 

10 under this section. 

11 (3) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A proposal for a 

12 project under this section shall include— 

13 (A) a statement of the purposes of the 

14 project; 

15 (B) the name of the entity with overall re16 sponsibility for the project; 

17 (C) a description of— 

18 (i) the qualifications of the entity that 

19 will conduct the project; 

20 (ii) methods for project implementa21 tion and outcome assessment; and 

22 (iii) anticipated outcomes; 

23 (D) assurances that the project will be im24 plemented in consultation with relevant wildlife 

25 management authorities, Indian Tribes, and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 857 IS

1 other appropriate local government, State gov2 ernment, and Federal Government agencies; 

3 (E) assurances that the conservation ef4 forts outlined in the proposal do not conflict 

5 with food safety measures or practices; 

6 (F) information that demonstrates the 

7 clear potential of the project to contribute to 

8 the conservation and recovery of western mon9 arch butterflies and other pollinators within the 

10 range of western monarch butterflies; and 

11 (G) such other information as the Sec12 retary may require. 

13 (c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—The Sec14 retary shall annually— 

15 (1) solicit project proposals for funding under 

16 this section; and 

17 (2) review each proposal described in paragraph 

18 (1) on a timeline that recognizes the urgency of the 

19 declining number of western monarch butterflies and 

20 other pollinators within the range of western mon21 arch butterflies to determine whether the proposal 

22 meets the criteria specified in subsection (d). 

23 (d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may 

24 approve a project proposal under this section if the pro25 posal demonstrates a likelihood that the project will conVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:18 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S857.IS S857

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 857 IS

1 tribute to the conservation of western monarch butterfly 

2 populations in the wild. 

3 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

4 provide technical assistance for a project that receives a 

5 grant under this section. 

6 (f) PROJECT REPORTING.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each entity that receives a 

8 grant for a project under this section shall submit 

9 to the Secretary, at such intervals as the Secretary 

10 may require, reports that include any information 

11 that the Secretary determines is necessary to evalu12 ate the progress and success of the project for the 

13 purposes of ensuring positive results, assessing prob14 lems, and fostering improvements. 

15 (2) AVAILABILITY TO STATE LEGISLATURES.— 

16 At the request of the Governor of the State in which 

17 a project is conducted, each entity that receives a 

18 grant for a project under this section shall submit 

19 each report under paragraph (1) to the State legisla20 ture of that State. 

21 (3) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—The Sec22 retary shall make available to the public, in a timely 

23 manner— 

24 (A) each report submitted under para25 graph (1); and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 857 IS

1 (B) any other documents relating to 

2 projects for which a grant is provided under 

3 this section. 

4 SEC. 5. WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY RESCUE FUND. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

6 Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the 

7 ‘‘Western Monarch Butterfly Rescue Fund’’. 

8 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amounts 

9 available in the Fund for each fiscal year, the Secretary 

10 may expend not more than 3 percent to pay the adminis11 trative expenses necessary to carry out this Act. 

12 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated for deposit into the Fund 

14 $12,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027, 

15 to remain available until expended. 

16 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WESTERN MONARCH 

17 BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION PLAN. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into an 

19 agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife Founda20 tion pursuant to the National Fish and Wildlife Founda21 tion Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) to facili22 tate updating and implementing the Western Monarch 

23 Butterfly Conservation Plan prepared by the Western As24 sociation of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and dated January 

25 2019. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 857 IS

1 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 10(a) of the National 

2 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 

3 U.S.C. 3709(a)) shall not apply with respect to— 

4 (1) the agreement entered into under subsection 

5 (a); or 

6 (2) amounts made available to carry out this 

7 section. 

8 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

10 out this section $12,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 

11 through 2027. 

12 SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

13 Not later than January 31 of each year, the Sec14 retary shall submit to Congress a report describing the 

15 status of western monarch butterflies, including, with re16 spect to the year for which the report is submitted— 

17 (1) a summary of the projects for which the 

18 Secretary has provided funding under section 4 and 

19 an evaluation of those projects; and 

20 (2) a summary of the projects for which the 

21 Secretary has provided funding through the Western 

22 Monarch Butterfly Conservation Plan prepared by 

23 the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agen24 cies and dated January 2019. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS