U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service is pushing for Monarch butterflies to gain a federally protected status.

It comes as local residents have been making moves to conserve the species, which is the Illinois state insect for years.

Population assessments show Monarch butterflies have declined by nearly 60% from 2023 to 2024. in these unique pollinators are important part of the local ecosystem with deep culture connections in the Mexican community.

>> Very hard insect pollinator and most people think about pollination in conjunction with honeybees and bumblebees because they're so very important to our food crops.

However, butterflies can be very important to our wildflower populations.

Brookfield Zoo works with the Illinois Monarch Project.

>> To help protect the insects population through educational services.

>> Conservation efforts in meeting goals to plant native milkweed for the butterflies to eat and lay eggs on manager of interpretive programs and recall planned.

>> Emphasize is that ecological and cultural importance of monarchs.

When you take a look worldwide butterflies have a significant many cultures.

>> They are related to her dreams going from one room to another.

Sometimes they can be signals from her loved ones veteran the here after coming back to give a certain messages here in Illinois.

They have a special significance because in 1975 group of schoolchildren in Decatur lobbied successfully to have the monarch butterfly considered our state insect.

And in 2017 milkweed was adopted as the Illinois State wildflower.

So these animals can have an intrinsic value, but they can also have a value that's really rooted here in our literature and our spirituality.

>> Monarch butterflies migrate each fall from the northern border of Canada all the way down to Mexico and then move back north to states like Illinois in the spring and summer Polson resident and Sanchez who put a spa, says that this has dedicated her time and home to the preservation of butterflies.

>> I happened see mice He saving my vote.

would that she's been they threw for me as a human.

It's so sad for me.

Team came that the when they I be be with him any more.

So why don't I I I learned that keep 19 as many threes as many plants I can because I want come back.

I battle for I would be with them for a bit.

>> Sanchez has transformed her home into a butterfly sanctuary, complete with the large collection of the pollinators displayed in her living room for her, the our sign of liberation.

>> ice can cross the border that any time they need to because they need to make it a south and then they need to migrate north.

They require a passport.

They don't make quite big, but it's the cross-border It's something that makes me feel is so painful because humans week we had enough pretty to do that.

We don't have means to go and be safe out for me.

Sickels, the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service.

They're looking to at the monarch butterfly to its endangered species list.

>> Advocates hope the designation will turn around the insects, declining population.

>> Due to habitat loss insecticides and climate change we've seen before with some of our conservation successes.

>> When you have.

Concerned citizens as well organizations government agencies all working together.

>> You can have a dramatic turnaround and we have to animals here at Brookfield Zoo, Chicago that symbolize conservation success.

See our American bison as well as the bald eagle.

These are to add moves with populations were really, really low.

But everybody worked together in this nation, we saw conservation success.

Those populations rebound to the point where they're stable.

And this is why I'm hopeful and confident that we can do it again with the monarch butterfly.

>> The U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comments on its proposal to list monarch butterflies as an endangered species.

Now through March, 12th, there's more information on our Web site, including what you can