I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1983 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 17, 2021 

Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 

HASTINGS, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. JACOBS of California, 

Ms. PINGREE, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SUOZZI, and Mr. 

THOMPSON of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the 

Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by 

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

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 2021’’ or the 

6 ‘‘MONARCH Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) the population of western monarch butter4 flies is at imminent risk of extinction; 

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

6 western monarch butterflies has declined by more 

7 than 99 percent due to prolonged drought, loss of 

8 milkweed and native pollinator habitat, loss of breed9 ing and overwintering habitat, and climate change; 

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

11 butterflies reached a new historic low of 1,914 but12 terflies, falling below the predicted extinction thresh13 old for the third year in a row; 

14 (4) the extinction of the population of migra15 tory western monarch butterflies is now likely to 

16 occur within the next 2 decades if urgent action is 

17 not taken; 

18 (5) actively restoring native milkweed and nec19 tar plants, monarch overwintering habitat, and other 

20 pollinator habitat, and ensuring that key habitats 

21 are protected from destruction, are critical to ensur22 ing the survival of western monarch butterflies and 

23 can also help facilitate conservation of other essen24 tial pollinators; and 


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1 (6) enhancing pollinator populations can result 

2 in improved pollination services for neighboring land, 

3 including agriculture and wildlife ecosystems. 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

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

7 means the use of each method or procedure nec8 essary to protect habitats of western monarch but9 terflies, including— 

10 (A) the protection, restoration, and man11 agement of overwintering, breeding, and migra12 tory habitats; 

13 (B) assistance in the development and im14 plementation of national, regional, State, and 

15 local conservation and management plans; and 

16 (C) community outreach and education. 

17 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the West18 ern Monarch Butterfly Rescue Fund established by 

19 section 5(a). 

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

21 the Secretary of the Interior. 

22 (4) WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY.—The 

23 term ‘‘western monarch butterfly’’ means the mon24 arch butterfly population that overwinters along the 

25 coast of the State of California and breeds across 


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1 the States of California, Arizona, Nevada, Wash2 ington, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah. 

3 SEC. 4. WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION 

4 GRANT PROGRAM. 

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

6 funds and in consultation with other relevant Federal 

7 agencies, the Secretary shall use amounts in the Fund to 

8 provide grants for projects for the conservation of western 

9 monarch butterflies for which project proposals are ap10 proved by the Secretary in accordance with this section. 

11 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 

12 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity that is eli13 gible to receive a grant for a project under this sec14 tion is— 

15 (A) a relevant local or Tribal government 

16 agency, research institution, or nonprofit orga17 nization with expertise required for the con18 servation of western monarch butterflies; and 

19 (B) any other entity, as determined appro20 priate by the Secretary, with the expertise re21 quired for the conservation of western monarch 

22 butterflies. 

23 (2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.— 

24 A State or Federal agency— 


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

2 grant for a project under this section; but 

3 (B) may be included as a partner or col4 laborator on a project that receives a grant 

5 under this section. 

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

7 project under this section shall include— 

8 (A) a statement of the purposes of the 

9 project; 

10 (B) the name of the entity with overall re11 sponsibility for the project; 

12 (C) a description of— 

13 (i) the qualifications of the entity that 

14 will conduct the project; 

15 (ii) methods for project implementa16 tion and outcome assessment; and 

17 (iii) anticipated outcomes; 

18 (D) assurances that the project will be im19 plemented in consultation with relevant wildlife 

20 management authorities, Indian Tribes, and 

21 other appropriate local government, State gov22 ernment, and Federal Government agencies; 

23 (E) assurances that the conservation ef24 forts outlined in the proposal do not conflict 

25 with food safety measures or practices; 


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1 (F) information that demonstrates the 

2 clear potential of the project to contribute to 

3 the conservation and recovery of western mon4 arch butterflies; and 

5 (G) such other information as the Sec6 retary may require. 

7 (c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—The Sec8 retary shall annually— 

9 (1) solicit project proposals for funding under 

10 this section; and 

11 (2) review each proposal described in paragraph 

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

13 declining number of western monarch butterflies to 

14 determine whether the proposal meets the criteria 

15 specified in subsection (d). 

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

17 approve a project proposal under this section if the pro18 posal demonstrates a likelihood that the project will con19 tribute to the conservation of western monarch butterfly 

20 populations in the wild. 

21 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

22 provide technical assistance for a project that receives a 

23 grant under this section. 

24 (f) PROJECT REPORTING.— 


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

2 grant for a project under this section shall submit 

3 to the Secretary, at such intervals as the Secretary 

4 may require, reports that include any information 

5 that the Secretary determines is necessary to evalu6 ate the progress and success of the project for the 

7 purposes of ensuring positive results, assessing prob8 lems, and fostering improvements. 

9 (2) AVAILABILITY TO STATE LEGISLATURES.— 

10 Each entity that receives a grant for a project under 

11 this section shall submit each report under para12 graph (1) to the State legislature of the State in 

13 which the project is conducted. 

14 (3) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—The Sec15 retary shall make available to the public, in a timely 

16 manner— 

17 (A) each report submitted under para18 graph (1); and 

19 (B) any other documents relating to 

20 projects for which a grant is provided under 

21 this section. 

22 SEC. 5. WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY RESCUE FUND. 

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

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

25 ‘‘Western Monarch Butterfly Rescue Fund’’. 


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1 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amounts 

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

3 may expend not more than 3 percent to pay the adminis4 trative expenses necessary to carry out this Act. 

5 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

6 authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $12,500,000 

7 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 

8 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WESTERN MONARCH 

9 BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION PLAN. 

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

11 agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife Founda12 tion pursuant to the National Fish and Wildlife Founda13 tion Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) to facili14 tate the implementation of the Western Monarch Butterfly 

15 Conservation Plan prepared by the Western Association 

16 of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and dated January 2019. 

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

18 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 

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

20 (1) the agreement entered into under subsection 

21 (a); or 

22 (2) amounts made available to carry out this 

23 section. 

24 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

25 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 


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1 $12,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 

2 to carry out this section. 

3 SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

4 Not later than January 31 of each year, the Sec5 retary shall submit to Congress a report describing the 

6 status of western monarch butterflies, including, with re7 spect to the year for which the report is submitted— 

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

9 Secretary has provided funding under section 4 and 

10 an evaluation of those projects; and 

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

12 Secretary has provided funding through the Western 

13 Monarch Butterfly Conservation Plan prepared by 

14 the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agen15 cies and dated January 2019. 

Æ 


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