The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior, announced today that it is seeking public input on a draft plan to bring about the recovery of the Karner blue butterfly. The endangered butterfly, listed in 1992 under the Endangered Species Act, is found in seven states from New York to Minnesota, and one Canadian province.
The plan presents a blueprint for action by federal and state agencies, as well as other organizations and private landowners interested in helping in the recovery of this endangered species. The goal of the draft plan is to restore viable populations of the butterfly across its geographic range to levels sufficient to recover the species and allow removal from the Endangered Species List. This would involve voluntary programs that would secure and protect habitat for the butterfly where it now lives, as well as potential reintroductions of the butterfly into areas it once inhabited.
"Successful recovery of endangered species depends more and more on successful partnerships. We look forward to working with all our partners to finalize this plan as we continue our cooperative efforts to bring back the Karner blue butterfly," said Bill Hartwig, Regional Director for the Services Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region.
The draft recovery plan released today resulted from several years of planning by state, federal, and conservation agency biologists, technical consultants, and academic species experts.
The Karner blue butterfly historically occurred in 12 states and the Province of Ontario. The butterflys current range has been reduced to seven states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, New Hampshire, New York, as well as Ohio where it was recently reintroduced. Three of these states -- Ohio, New Hampshire and Minnesota -- have only one Karner blue population still existing, and one of these populations may no longer be present. Wisconsin and Michigan support the majority of populations throughout the butterflys range.
The Karner blue is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 1 inch. The male is striking violet blue in color. Because it is a weak flyer, it does not move far from its home habitat patch. The butterfly depends on savanna and barrens habitats and the wild lupine plant that grows there. Wild lupine is the only plant the Karner blue larva (or caterpillar) is known to eat. Threats to the butterfly include continued loss and alteration of habitat due to commercial, residential, and agricultural development, fragmentation, and habitat degradation resulting from the succession of more open habitats to forest cover. Today, the butterfly inhabits remnant savanna and barrens habitats, as well as other more disturbed habitat areas including younger forest stands, military bases, utility and roadway corridors, and airports.
The savanna/barrens habitat is a unique and globally imperiled ecosystem that supports a host of rare species in addition to the Karner blue that will benefit from habitat protection and restoration activities proposed in the draft recovery plan. These rare species include the Persius dusky wing and frosted elfin butterflies, prairie fameflower, slender glass lizard, Blandings turtle, sharp-tailed grouse, and loggerhead shrike.
"It is very important for us to know what the public thinks about our approach to recovering this species," indicated the Services Regional Director, William Hartwig. The Service will collect written public comments on the draft recovery plan over the next 120 days. Public comments must be received by April 4, 2002, at which time they will be considered while developing the final plan. Comments should be address to the Field Supervisor, Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1015 Challenger Court, Green Bay, Wisconsin 54311.
A copy of the draft recovery plan can be obtained from the Services Ecological Services Field Office in Green Bay at the address noted above, by calling 920-465-7440 or from the Services website at: http://midwest.fws.gov/Endangered. For a fact sheet and photo of the Karner blue butterfly, access the following website: http://midwest.fws.gov/Endangered/insects/index.html. TTY users may contact us through the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
