The White House aims to restore 7 million acres of bee habitat in the next five years. For monarch butterflies, the White House seeks to collaborate with the Mexican government to raise the insect’s winter population to 225 million in a 15-acre area there.
The number of monarch butterflies that spend winters in Mexico is down by almost 90 percent over the past two decades. The U.S. government is working with Mexico to expand monarch habitat there. Like bees, monarch butterflies carry pollen between flowers, a process crucial for plant reproduction.
The White House report also proposes spending $82.5 million on honeybee research in the upcoming budget year, up $34 million from the previous year.