Monarch butterflies have been denied Endangered Species Act protection until 2030. They were supposed to be listed as threatened last December. The Trump administration never finalized it. After conservation groups sued, the Fish and Wildlife Service agreed this week to a final decision by June 6, 2030. Eastern monarchs covered just 7.24 acres of forest in Mexico last winter. That was a good year, up 64%. They still need about 15 acres to be safe from collapse, and they covered nearly 45 in the late '90s. Western monarchs are down more than 95% since the 1980s. Only 12,260 were counted last winter. A federal assessment gave eastern monarchs up to a 74% chance of going extinct in the next 60 years. Western monarchs: up to 99%. Scientists first asked for protection in 2014. By the deadline, monarchs will have waited 16 years.