Northeast Region External Affairs Office
For immediate release |
For more information contact: Edward Henry, USFWS, 413-253-8327 |
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Presents $321,000 for Conservation and Protection of Endangered Karner Blue Butterfly in New York State
In a ceremony today at Camp Saratoga in Wilton, N.Y., the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service presented the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation with $321,000 for the conservation and protection of the Karner blue butterfly in New York state.
"I am so pleased to be partnering with the state of New York and many of the fine organizations here to work together for the Karner blue butterfly's successful recovery," said Dr. Mamie A. Parker, the Service's Northeast regional director.
"In the Northeast Region," she said, "we focus on what we call the 3Ps - People, Partnerships and Promoting our natural resource successes. Today, we are celebrating all three of these and the Karner blue butterfly as well."
The funds will be used to preserve 75 acres of high-quality Karner blue butterfly habitat in the Albany Pine Bush/Glacial Lake Albany region. NYSDEC will be presenting the funds to organizations partnering with the Service. DEC Commissioner Erin M. Crotty said, "The protection of habitat for the Karner blue butterfly is essential for the long-term recovery of this endangered species. We are pleased to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local communities to promote conservation strategies that will help to maintain critical ecosystems and enhance Karner blue butterfly populations."
The partnership involves federal, state and local governments and organizations. U.S. Congressman John E. Sweeney said, "I am pleased to join in announcing this federal grant to the state of New York to help local communities in Saratoga and Albany work in partnership with landowners and private conservation groups to protect land, water and critical nationally significant endangered species habitat. This is an excellent investment of federal wildlife service funds."
This partnership of local, state, public and private entities in Albany and Saratoga serves a national model for effective, sensible and collaborative environmental protection. U.S. Congressman Mike McNulty said of the grant and partnership, "I am pleased that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is providing funds to support Karner blue butterfly protection."
Karner blue butterflies received federal protection as an endangered species on Dec. 14, 1992. The species was discovered a little more than 100 years ago in Karner, N.Y. They have a wingspan of about 1-inch. The sexes have differing coloration, the male being distinctively marked with a silvery or dark blue color on the top of the wings along with a thin, black margin. The larvae feed almost exclusively on wild lupine, which limits their range. Fire suppression, development and tree farms have all reduced the amount of available habitat.
The $321,000 grant, part of the Recovery Land Acquisition grants program, is part of the Service's Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund under Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act. This grant program encourages states to submit proposals that would benefit endangered species by protecting their habitat through land acquisition or conservation easements.
Sarah Clarkin, Executive Director of the Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park, said, "I thank the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for awarding the Glacial Lake Albany area the opportunity to further advance efforts to recover the endangered Karner blue butterfly. I also want to commend the NYSDEC, The Nature Conservancy, and the Town of Wilton for their continual support of the preserve and park. This occasion is a shining example of what can happen when federal, state, local and private entities join forces and resources to achieve a shared goal."
Arthur Johnson, Supervisor, Town of Wilton, said, "On behalf of the Town of Wilton, I want to thank the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for selecting Glacial Lake Albany, which includes the Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park, as a recipient of Recovery Lands Acquisition funding. Through the town's partnership with the NYSDEC and The Nature Conservancy, we are very aware of the benefits these partnerships create. In this instance, the Karner blue butterfly and the people of Wilton will experience a better quality of life."
Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission Executive Director, Christopher Hawver said, "We praise both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the NYSDEC for cooperatively securing resources to protect quality endangered species habitat in Glacial Lake Albany. This announcement exemplifies the public-private partnership of the Pine Bush Commission, where federal and state partners in conservation have joined together with The Nature Conservancy and our local county to protect critical lands in the Albany Pine Bush."
Henry Tepper, New York State Director of The Nature Conservancy said, "We applaud the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for making this $321,000 grant to state, local, county and private conservation partners to help interested landowners protect endangered natural communities and preserve locally important open space."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System that encompasses nearly 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
