Government views Monarch Butterfly Releases as a threat to Western

Fri Dec 7 17:06:08 EST 2001

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The public comment period ends monday. Here's an address to write to:
Wayne.F.Wehling at aphis.usda.gov

Bill

Paul Cherubini wrote:

> Thursday December 6 3:02 AM ET
>
> New Rules May Hurt Butterfly Releases
>
> By PAUL RECER, AP Science Writer
>
> WASHINGTON (AP) - It's been a moment of awe for thousands of
> schoolchildren: A cage is opened and a brand new Monarch butterfly flashes its
> bright orange and black wings and flutters into the wild.
>
> But it is also a scene that could become illegal, the victim of a federal
> bureaucracy eager to protect threatened Western milkweeds.
>
> Farmers who raise Monarchs for profit and ship them to other states say
> proposed Agriculture Department regulations would forbid release of the
> butterflies into the wild.
>
> "Schoolchildren could still raise the butterflies. But then they would have to kill
> them,'' Pennsylvania butterfly raiser Rick Mikula said Wednesday.
>
> The regulations also threaten a growing fad, marking festive occasions by
> releasing hundreds of adult Monarchs into the breeze.
>
> USDA officials said the regulations are required to protect members of the
> milkweed family of plants, the favored food of Monarch larvae.
>
> Wayne Wehling, a USDA specialist in plant-feeding insects, said at least some
> milkweed species in Oklahoma and in Arizona are endangered. Allowing
> unregulated interstate shipment and release of the butterfly, Wehling said,
> could tip the balance against the plants, on which the migrating Monarch
> habitually lays its eggs.
>
> In effect, the USDA is squeezed between a federal law protecting endangered
> plants and the growing popularity of commercial butterfly farming.
>
> "It's a real Catch-22,'' said Wehling.
>
>
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The public comment period ends monday. Here's an address to write
to: Wayne.F.Wehling at aphis.usda.gov
Bill
Paul Cherubini wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>Thursday December 6 3:02 AM ET
New Rules May Hurt Butterfly Releases
By PAUL RECER, AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - It's been a moment of awe for thousands of
 schoolchildren: A cage is opened and a brand new Monarch butterfly
flashes its
 bright orange and black wings and flutters into the wild.
But it is also a scene that could become illegal, the victim of a federal
 bureaucracy eager to protect threatened Western milkweeds.
Farmers who raise Monarchs for profit and ship them to other states
say
 proposed Agriculture Department regulations would forbid release of
the
 butterflies into the wild.
"Schoolchildren could still raise the butterflies. But then they would
have to kill
 them,'' Pennsylvania butterfly raiser Rick Mikula said Wednesday.
The regulations also threaten a growing fad, marking festive occasions
by
 releasing hundreds of adult Monarchs into the breeze.
USDA officials said the regulations are required to protect members
of the
 milkweed family of plants, the favored food of Monarch larvae.
Wayne Wehling, a USDA specialist in plant-feeding insects, said at least
some
 milkweed species in Oklahoma and in Arizona are endangered. Allowing
 unregulated interstate shipment and release of the butterfly, Wehling
said,
 could tip the balance against the plants, on which the migrating Monarch
 habitually lays its eggs.
In effect, the USDA is squeezed between a federal law protecting endangered
 plants and the growing popularity of commercial butterfly farming.
"It's a real Catch-22,'' said Wehling.
 &nbsp;
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 &nbsp;</blockquote>
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