HARRISBURG, PA — State Rep. Chris Pielli (D-Chester) has announced the advancement of his proposed legislation, H.B. 441, following its approval by the state House Environmental and Natural Resources Protection Committee. The bill seeks to amend the Wild Resource Conservation Act of 1982 to include the management and conservation of wild native terrestrial insects under the purview of Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).
Pennsylvania is currently home to 77 endangered insect species, with key pollinators such as the monarch butterfly and bumblebee facing alarming population declines. Should it pass into law, H.B. 441 would enable the DCNR to take proactive measures in preserving at-risk insect species, such as securing funding for conservation initiatives, collaborating with federal agencies, and coordinating with other state entities on issues like habitat management and light pollution.
The bill aims to prevent the need for federal Endangered Species Act protections by focusing on early state-level recovery efforts. It also underscores the crucial role of pollinators in food production and maintaining ecological balance.
“Since the 1990s, the population of monarch butterflies in North America has declined by 90%. They are now an endangered species. Without insects and pollinators like the monarch butterfly, flowers and crops cannot survive. To ensure human welfare, we must protect them,” Rep. Pielli said. “That is why I’ve reintroduced H.B. 441, a bill which will address the conservation of wild native terrestrial insects by adding language that protects them under Pennsylvania’s Wild Resource Conservation Act, thus upholding our constitutional right to the preservation of natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic values of the environment in Pennsylvania.”
With pollinator species such as the monarch butterfly now endangered, the legislation represents an urgent effort to safeguard Pennsylvania’s ecosystems and uphold the state’s constitutional commitment to environmental preservation. H.B. 441 now moves forward in the legislative process.
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