Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge Silverspot Recovery

USFWS Portland-based staff and partners from the Institute for Applied Ecology partnered with Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge to plant early blue violets and pearly everlasting flowers on the refuge's Cannery Hill unit. These flower are native to the refuge's coastal prairie habitat. The project is part of a joint effort to aid in the recovery of the Oregon silverspot butterfly, a Federally threatened species. A dibbler, a plug remover, and a planter was the team make-up that would get 4,200 early blue violets into the ground that day. Volunteers split off into groups of three to make their way through the 4,200 early blue violet plugs that would reach that day.