O-G 98-08
Refer:
January 27, 1998
FEDERAL PROTECTION PROPOSED FOR BUTTERFLY AND TWO PLANTS FROM REMNANT NATIVE PRAIRIE OF OREGON'S WILLAMETTE VALLEY
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is inviting public comment on a proposal to list the Fender's blue butterfly and the Willamette daisy as endangered, and the Kincaid's lupine as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act.
These three species occur in native prairie in the Willamette Valley in Yamhill, Polk, Benton, and Lane Counties, Oregon. Based on land survey records from the 1850's, this habitat was once widespread, covering over a million acres prior to European-American settlement. During the past 140 years, over 99 percent of this native prairie has been lost to agriculture.
The Fender's blue butterfly is a small, cobalt-blue butterfly that occurs in 21 remnant native prairie sites totaling 408 acres. Twelve of these populations occupy sites of 7 acres or less. Most of these populations face continued decline; 13 of the populations contain fewer than 50 individuals.
Rediscovered in 1989, the Fender's blue butterfly had formerly been known only from collections made between 1929 and 1937. Despite widespread searches, lack of information on the butterfly's host plant prevented researchers from targeting a particular species of lupine that the butterfly requires to survive.
Adult blue butterflies lay their eggs on lupine "host" plants during May and June. Newly hatched caterpillars feed and develop on the host plant until they transform into adult butterflies the following spring.
Dr. Paul Hammond rediscovered the Fender's blue butterfly on an uncommon species of lupine at McDonald Forest in Benton County in 1989. Rediscovery of the butterfly allowed the mysterious host lupine to be identified as Kincaid's lupine.
Kincaid's lupine is also found in Willamette Valley dry prairie as well as in open oak woodlands from Douglas County, Oregon, to Lewis County, Washington.
The lupine produces a stalk of blue-purple to yellow flowers and reaches 2 to 3 feet in height. It is a long-lived perennial species that can form large clones from an extensive system of rhizomes, or underground stems.
Kincaid's lupine occurs at 51 remnant native prairie locations totaling 357 acres; 40 of these sites are less than 7 acres in size. These locations are predominantly roadside and fenceline sites where fragments of native prairie have escaped destruction. Fender's blue butterfly and Kincaid's lupine occupy four sites on Federal, state, and City of Eugene lands; the remaining sites are on private lands.
The Willamette daisy is found primarily in wetter, low-lying native prairie in the Willamette Valley. The daisy is a low-growing perennial that produces pink to pale-blue ray flowers and yellow disk flowers.
Historically known from locations as far north as the Portland area, the Willamette daisy has been reduced to 28 remnant populations on 286 acres. Seventeen of these sites are less than 7 acres in size. These sites lie mostly along roadsides and marginal areas. Eight sites are on Federal, state, and City of Corvallis lands; the remainder are on private land.
All three species are threatened by habitat loss due to agricultural activities, urban development, roadside maintenance, and herbicide application. Since most of the sites where the butterfly and two plants occur are small and isolated, one project, such as construction of a driveway or realignment of a fence, is capable of destroying an entire population. Given the trend in habitat loss, the extinction of most of the small populations of all three species is anticipated within 5 years.
The Endangered Species Act does not prohibit "take" of listed plants on private land, but landowners must comply with state laws protecting imperiled plants. Consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service come into play for private and other landowners only when Federal funding or permits are required for activities that may affect listed species.
Native plants are important for their ecological, economic, and aesthetic values. Plants play an important role in development of crops that resist disease, insects, and drought. At least 25 percent of prescription drugs contain ingredients derived from plant compounds, including medicine used to treat cancer, heart disease, juvenile leukemia, and malaria, as well as that used to assist organ transplants. Plants are also used to develop natural pesticides.
The State of Oregon has listed the Willamette daisy as endangered and Kincaid's lupine as threatened.
A complete description of the Service's proposal to list the Fender's blue butterfly and Willamette daisy as endangered and the Kincaid's lupine as threatened was published in the Federal Register on January 27, 1998.
Public comments on the proposal are invited until March 30, 1998. Comments and
supporting materials should be sent to: Field Supervisor, Oregon State Office, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 2600 SE 98th Ave, Suite 100, Portland, OR 97266. Comments and
materials received will be available for public inspection at this address.
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