I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1983 
To encourage and facilitate efforts by States and other stakeholders to con-
serve 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 re-
ferred 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 with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To encourage and facilitate efforts by States and other stake-
holders to conserve and sustain the western population 
of monarch butterflies, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Monarch Action, Re-
covery, and Conservation of Habitat Act of 2021’’ or the 
‘‘MONARCH Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) the population of western monarch butter-
flies is at imminent risk of extinction; 
(2) over the past 3 decades, the population of 
western monarch butterflies has declined by more 
than 99 percent due to prolonged drought, loss of 
milkweed and native pollinator habitat, loss of breed-
ing and overwintering habitat, and climate change; 
(3) in 2020, the population of western monarch 
butterflies reached a new historic low of 1,914 but-
terflies, falling below the predicted extinction thresh-
old for the third year in a row; 
(4) the extinction of the population of migra-
tory western monarch butterflies is now likely to 
occur within the next 2 decades if urgent action is 
not taken; 
(5) actively restoring native milkweed and nec-
tar plants, monarch overwintering habitat, and other 
pollinator habitat, and ensuring that key habitats 
are protected from destruction, are critical to ensur-
ing the survival of western monarch butterflies and 
can also help facilitate conservation of other essen-
tial pollinators; and 
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(6) enhancing pollinator populations can result 
in improved pollination services for neighboring land, 
including agriculture and wildlife ecosystems. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’ 
means the use of each method or procedure nec-
essary to protect habitats of western monarch but-
terflies, including— 
(A) the protection, restoration, and man-
agement of overwintering, breeding, and migra-
tory habitats; 
(B) assistance in the development and im-
plementation of national, regional, State, and 
local conservation and management plans; and 
(C) community outreach and education. 
(2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the West-
ern Monarch Butterfly Rescue Fund established by 
section 5(a). 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(4) WESTERN
MONARCH
BUTTERFLY.—The 
term ‘‘western monarch butterfly’’ means the mon-
arch butterfly population that overwinters along the 
coast of the State of California and breeds across 
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the States of California, Arizona, Nevada, Wash-
ington, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah. 
SEC. 4. WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION 
GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 
funds and in consultation with other relevant Federal 
agencies, the Secretary shall use amounts in the Fund to 
provide grants for projects for the conservation of western 
monarch butterflies for which project proposals are ap-
proved by the Secretary in accordance with this section. 
(b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 
(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity that is eli-
gible to receive a grant for a project under this sec-
tion is— 
(A) a relevant local or Tribal government 
agency, research institution, or nonprofit orga-
nization with expertise required for the con-
servation of western monarch butterflies; and 
(B) any other entity, as determined appro-
priate by the Secretary, with the expertise re-
quired for the conservation of western monarch 
butterflies. 
(2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.— 
A State or Federal agency— 
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(A) may not be a lead entity or receive a 
grant for a project under this section; but 
(B) may be included as a partner or col-
laborator on a project that receives a grant 
under this section. 
(3) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A proposal for a 
project under this section shall include— 
(A) a statement of the purposes of the 
project; 
(B) the name of the entity with overall re-
sponsibility for the project; 
(C) a description of— 
(i) the qualifications of the entity that 
will conduct the project; 
(ii) methods for project implementa-
tion and outcome assessment; and 
(iii) anticipated outcomes; 
(D) assurances that the project will be im-
plemented in consultation with relevant wildlife 
management authorities, Indian Tribes, and 
other appropriate local government, State gov-
ernment, and Federal Government agencies; 
(E) assurances that the conservation ef-
forts outlined in the proposal do not conflict 
with food safety measures or practices; 
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