Despite obvious challenges and evidence of recent decline at certain overwintering sites, the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) remains widespread and ubiquitous throughout much of its recorded range within the United States, and adults still migrate in the tens of millions to overwintering sites in México. We share scientific as well as practical concerns with the initiative to list the monarch butterfly under the 1973 Endangered Species Act (as amended) of the United States. We note the existence of large‐scale strategic conservation commitments for this species that are being implemented at state, regional, and international levels, and argue that these strategies should be pursued before invoking the formal regulatory protections of the federal Endangered Species Act. We also note a persistent confusion regarding the units of conservation for migratory monarch butterflies: although multiple migratory populations are often posited based on differences in overwintering sites, multiple lines of evidence indicate that North American migratory monarch butterflies form a single, panmictic population. On a practical level, we note the difficulties inherent in applying provisions of the Endangered Species Act such as restrictions on “take” and the designation of “critical habitat” to a species that remains widespread and ubiquitous across much of North America and many other parts of the world. We encourage the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decline to list the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act at this time. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

中文翻译：

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自愿保护而非监管将是帝王蝶恢复的关键

尽管存在明显的挑战并有证据表明某些越冬地点最近出现了下降，但帝王蝶（Danaus plexippus）在美国大部分已记录范围内仍然广泛存在，并且成年后仍有成千上万的成年人迁移到墨西哥的越冬地点。根据美国1973年《濒临灭绝物种法》（经修订），将帝王蝶列入名录的倡议与我们同时具有科学和实践方面的关注。我们注意到存在在州，地区和国际各级实施的针对该物种的大规模战略保护承诺，并主张应在援引联邦《濒危物种法》的正式监管保护之前实施这些策略。我们还注意到关于迁徙帝王蝶的保护单位的持续困惑：尽管通常基于越冬地点的差异而定出多个迁徙种群，但多种证据表明，北美迁徙帝王蝶形成了一个单一的恐慌种群。在实践层面上，我们注意到在《濒危物种法》的适用方面存在固有的困难，例如对在北美大部分地区和许多其他地区仍然普遍存在的物种的“获取”和“关键栖息地”的限制世界的。我们鼓励美国鱼类和野生动物服务局目前拒绝根据濒危物种法将帝王蝶列入清单。©2020野生动物协会。我们注意到在应用《濒危物种法》的规定时固有的困难，例如对在北美大部分地区和世界许多其他地区仍然普遍存在的物种的“获取”和指定“关键栖息地”的限制。我们鼓励美国鱼类和野生动物服务局目前拒绝根据濒危物种法将帝王蝶列入清单。©2020野生动物协会。我们注意到在实施《濒临灭绝物种法》的规定中固有的困难，例如对在北美大部分地区和世界许多其他地区仍然普遍存在的物种的“获取”和指定“重要栖息地”的限制。我们鼓励美国鱼类和野生动物局目前拒绝根据《濒危物种法》将帝王蝶列入清单。©2020野生动物协会。