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02/20/2006: "Parks Service Accused of Destroying Rare Butterfly Habitat"

SJI Home To Rarest Butterfly In US. US Fish & Wildlife: Marble Butterfly needs protection to avoid extinction
(Bill Yake photo)

According to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, before its rediscovery on San Juan Island in 1998, the Island Marble had been believed extinct for 90 years. In 2005, two hundred twenty-five surveys were conducted at 110 potential Island Marble sites by staff from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Natural Resources, the Xerces Society, and local volunteers. As a result of these searches, Island Marble butterflies were found at eleven new locations, although none of the sites had more than five individuals.

The biggest current threat to the Island Marble is mismanagement of its habitat at San Juan Island National Historical Park American Camp, where the only known viable populations reside.

The Xerces Society has issued a press release that stated that in spite of advise from experts on the Island Marble, "American Camp staff sprayed herbicide on over five acres within the Park as part of a prairie-restoration project last summer. This herbicide use devastated core habitat for the Island Marble and likely killed dozens of larvae feeding on plants at the site. The park has now refused to talk with Island Marble experts on how to move forward with future site restoration. If we are going to save the Island Marble from extinction, the National Park Service is going to have to work with experts to understand how to manage its habitat without adversely impacting it, said Scott Hoffman Black, Executive Director of the Xerces Society. If they continue with more restoration such as they did last summer, they may drive the Island Marble extinct."


(continued)

Responding to a petition from the Xerces Society, the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the San Juans, and Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has now issued a positive 90-day finding for the Island Marble Butterfly, determining that protection may be warranted, and has initiated a status review of the species.

"We are very pleased with the effort on the part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in surveying sites for this rare butterfly", said Mace Vaughan, Conservation Director for the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

According to the settlement agreement, the USFWS has until November 2006 to make a decision whether to list this species under the Endangered Species Act. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Natural Resources, and the USFWS will continue to search for additional sites again this season. Coastal shoreline and adjacent prairie on San Juan Island are vital habitat for the survival of the only known viable populations of Island Marble. It is one of a suite of species that depend on the once extensive prairies found in the Puget Trough. These prairies have declined to less than 3% of their historic extent.