Seventeen states (Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington and Virginia) have all added the monarch butterfly as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in their State Wildlife Action Plan revision in October of 2015. “The State Wildlife Action Plans are important tools for the management of wildlife diversity and non-game species in each state” (AFWA 2015). The Species of Greatest Conservation Need list encompasses species that are rare or imperiled—like the monarch butterfly—and need special conservation actions to ensure the species survival.

• Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA). 2015. State Fish and Wildlife Agency Activities to Benefit the Monarch Butterfly. Washington, DC: Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 42 pp.