National valuation of monarch butterflies indicates an untapped potential for incentive-based conservation

Authors

Jay E. Diffendorfer, United States Geological Survey, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Denver, COFollow
John B. Loomis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Leslie Ries, University of Maryland, The National Socio-environmental Synthesis Center
Karen Oberhauser, University of Minnesota
Laura Lopez-Hoffman, The University of Arizona
Darius Semmens, United States Geological Survey, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
Brice Semmens, University of California-San Diego
Bruce Butterfield, National Gardening Association
Ken Bagstad, United States Geological Survey, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
Josh Goldstein, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Ruscena Wiederholt, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Brady Mattson, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
Wayne E. Thogmartin, United States Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2013

Citation

Conservation Letters 00 (2013) 1–10 doi: 10.1111/conl.12065

Comments

This article is a U.S. government work, and is not subject to copyright in the United States.

Abstract

The annual migration of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) has high cultural value and recent surveys indicate monarch populations are declining. Protecting migratory species is complex because they cross international borders and depend on multiple regions. Understanding how much, and where, humans place value on migratory species can facilitate market-based conservation approaches. We performed a contingent valuation study of monarchs to understand the potential for such approaches to fund monarch conservation. The survey asked U.S. respondents about the money they would spend, or have spent, growing monarch-friendly plants, and the amount they would donate to monarch conservation organizations. Combining planting payments and donations, the survey indicated U.S. households valued monarchs as a total one-time payment of $4.78–$6.64 billion, levels similar to many endangered vertebrate species. The financial contribution of even a small percentage of households through purchases or donations could generate new funding for monarch conservation through market-based approaches.