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‘Threatened’ status sought for monarch butterfly

By WTOP Staff

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Three conservation groups and a butterfly expert are asking the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species.

The News-Journal of Wilmington, Del. (http://delonline.us/1vlX7L8 ) reports the petitioners blamed farming practices Tuesday for a loss of milkweed, a plant the butterflies rely on for feeding and breeding.

The petitioners are the Tucson, Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity, the Washington-based Center for Food Safety, the Xerces Society of Portland, Oregon, and monarch scientist Lincoln Brower of Sweet Briar College in Virginia.

Threatened-species status would allow federal officials more latitude to help the populations rebuild, but would not be as restrictive as endangered species status.

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Information from: The News Journal of Wilmington, Del., http://www.delawareonline.com

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Emergency guide: What you should do to prepare for emergencies

By WTOP Staff
WASHINGTON — Do you know what you'd do if an emergency hits? What if you're at work, your spouse is stuck in traffic and your children are in school? There's no way to plan for every emergency, but you can make sure you're prepared for different scenarios, including making a plan for your family and building a kit of emergency supplies.
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