If farmers become aware of this, many farmers will be destroying any trace of milkweed left on their land in 2015. Farmers know that if a plant is protected, they can be heavily fined or imprisoned for harming it. Since milkweed is a major pest plant/weed for farmers, they will want to remove all traces of it from their property before the Monarch becomes protected. They care more about making a living than about Monarch butterflies. Its a common weed in many states, and can take up acres of land. Although exemptions have been suggested, once a butterfly becomes protected, it becomes illegal to mess with their host plant. Exemptions have not been allowed in the history of protecting butterflies. It would be illegal for teachers to have them in their classrooms. It would be illegal for someone to bring in a Monarch caterpillar and raise it with their children. If you had a milkweed plant that grew up wild in your yard and you mowed it, you could be fined. If the suggested exemptions were allowed, if you raised more than 10 caterpillars, you could have men and women in uniforms knocking on your door with a search warrant and you could be fined and/or imprisoned. If you have a neighbor or if there is anyone who doesnt like you, he/she could report you, whether you have raised more than 10 caterpillars or not. Yes, exemptions have been suggested but they have never been allowed in the past. It is doubtful exemptions would be allowed now. Multi-million dollar projects have been stopped in mid-work because a little endangered butterfly was found on the land. Highways have had to be re-planned, more land taken/bought from the owners, and a mile or more of highway been re-routed because of endangered critters, costing millions of dollars. This is another reason farmers (and others) would destroy milkweed growing on their property. The bottom line is that the Monarch is not endangered or threatened. They are alive and doing well in many countries. The migration is considered threatened ... by some scientists. Other scientists do not believe that it is threatened. Studies of this new possible endangerment brings grants of millions of dollars to scientists. Yes, there are species that are in such low numbers that they are in danger of becoming extinct. The Miami Blue and Schauss Swallowtail are two species, out of several, that are protected in Florida, because they are nearly extinct. There are other species that are protected in Florida, and other states, because their numbers are so low. Yes, I believe that endangered and threatened status should be applied to many critters and plants. But lets keep it where it is truly endangered or threatened. Yes, there is a huge decrease in the number of Monarchs compared to past years when the migration was first studied. The Viceroy, Soldier, and Queen butterflies will probably become protected too, if this passes, because of how much they resemble Monarch butterflies. When the Miami Blue (found on one or two of the Florida Keys) became protected, it became illegal to capture the Ceraunus and Cassius Blue for over 100 miles of Florida north of the keys, simply because they resembled the Miami Blue. I believe that it is now legal to capture the Ceraunus and Cassius Blue - if I understand right, that was finally lifted. Instead, why not have the govt pay farmers to grow milkweed? If they were paid to grow x acres for every x acres they own, it would encourage them to plant milkweed and it would help build numbers of Monarch butterflies. Lets put govt money to work paying for planting of milkweed rather than punishing when milkweed is destroyed and punishing teachers/parents for raising Monarch butterfly caterpillars with their students/children.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 17:31:19 +0000
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