The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recently sent a letter to Paul Souza, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), regarding the agency’s proposal to designate the Monarch Butterfly (above) as an endangered species.
[Above photo via Wikipedia]
Issued in December 2024, that USFWS proposal would not only add the Monarch to the list of threatened species covered by the Endangered Species Act but its habitats as well.
While AASHTO and the state departments of transportation it represents “support the protection of threatened and endangered species and the conservation of their habitat” – stressing that state DOTs have “a long-standing history” of supporting pollinator habitat and implementing pollinator and roadside beautification programs – there are situations where state DOTs need flexibility.
AASHTO highlighted several key issues with the USFWS Monarch endangerment finding: a “lack of clear and concise details” that can create “ambiguity” for state DOTs due inconsistent interpretations of guidance; the addition of further “layers of review” during the environmental clearance process could lead to project delivery delays and budget uncertainty; and considerations involving “best management practices” for pesticide application, as state DOTs routinely apply pesticides as part of their standard roadside maintenance and vegetation management efforts.
“AASHTO also recommends USFWS consider emergency repairs, upgrades, and replacement activities as exceptions so that during state or federally declared emergencies, state DOTs would follow emergency consultation procedures,” the organization added.
AASHTO also stressed that state DOTs have long been “actively involved” in the research and development of resources for the recovery and conservation of pollinators and their habitats; especially where the Monarch Butterfly is concerned.
For example, 19 state DOTs are currently enrolled in the nearly five-year-old Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances or CCAA. AASHTO supported this effort in a two-page letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior in March 2020; seeking “expedited approval” of voluntary national CCAAs to further encourage the creation of pollinator habitats in highway rights-of-way – especially the Monarch Butterfly.
“The regulatory protections provided by this CCAA allow transportation agencies to continue vegetation management practices with less concern that these actions will lead to an increase in the costs of regulatory compliance if the Monarch is listed under the ESA,” the organization said in its 2020 letter.
Additionally, AASHTO noted that state DOTs remain actively involved in the research and development of resources for the recovery and conservation of pollinators and their habitat – pointing to National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 25-592, completed in 2022, that developed 16 regional guides and associated tools for implementing integrated pollinator programs.
“Even states without traditional pollinator programs still deploy best management practices, such as reduced mowing frequency, targeted herbicide application, strategic roadside maintenance to avoid breeding periods, and prioritizing native species for revegetation projects,” AASHTO noted in its letter to USFWS.
Additionally, the use of native plant species for pollinator habitats also provides “secondary benefits” to state DOT rights-of-way, AASHTO pointed out – notably by improving water infiltration, erosion control, roadside beautification, and weed control.
“The current and ongoing conservation efforts of state DOTs, whether through the CCAA for the Monarch Butterfly or following standalone maintenance plans, will promote the mitigation of de minimis habitat loss [and] offset maintenance activities,” the organization stressed. “Subsequently, AASHTO believes USFWS should consider state DOT system maintenance activities as de minimis under these conditions and provide provisions for exceptions to those impacts.”
