|
Climate Change, Insecticide Spraying Cited as Key Threats SANTA FE, N.M.- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) decided today that the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly could warrant federal protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The decision came as a result of an April court settlement with WildEarth Guardians and the Center for Biological Diversity. “We are pleased by the Service’s positive finding on our petition to grant federal protection to this rare butterfly perched on the brink of extinction,” said Nicole Rosmarino of WildEarth Guardians. “We will press the Service for further action so that this butterfly can board the legal ark of the Endangered Species Act.” The Service determined that federal protection may be warranted due to climate change, pesticide spraying, and a lack of government protections. The agency will now conduct a full assessment on the butterfly to determine whether they will issue a listing proposal. Under court order, the Service must issue that determination by August 31, 2009. “We hope to see a butterfly effect here - where a tiny creature found in only a small corner of the earth can help us address the global climate crisis and thereby protect us all,” stated Rosmarino. The butterfly occurs on less than 2,000 acres of private and Lincoln National Forest land within a six-mile radius around the village of Cloudcroft, New Mexico. WildEarth Guardians’ and Center for Biological Diversity’s formal 2007 petition to list the butterfly documented the many threats in its narrow range. The most significant threats are climate change, insecticide spraying, habitat destruction from urban sprawl, off-road vehicles and livestock grazing, fire suppression, and exotic weed proliferation. Because the butterfly’s range is centered around the village of Cloudcroft, the village appears in the checkerspot’s scientific name: Euphydryas anicia cloudcrofti. In 2007, the heart of the butterfly’s range was targeted for insecticide spraying while butterfly larvae were actively feeding. The groups’ petition helped avert disaster for the butterfly but underscored the species’ vulnerability and need for federal protection. The checkerspot had previously been on track for federal protection. The Center filed a petition in 1998, which resulted in a 2001 proposal to list this butterfly as endangered. But the Bush administration withdrew that listing proposal in 2004, claiming threats to the butterfly had been reduced. The decision defied logic by ignoring the very limited range of the butterfly, which makes it highly susceptible to extinction, and an onslaught of threats in its narrow range. In today’s finding, the Service recognized impacts to the checkerspot from climate change. The butterfly is at high risk from climate-change effects due to its extremely limited range, high-elevation habitat, and close relationship with a narrowly distributed plant, the New Mexico penstemon. Even a slight shift in the plant’s distribution, productivity, or other factors could further imperil the checkerspot. Across the globe, butterflies have been recognized to be at especially high risk from climate change given that many butterflies are specialized to depend on just a few host plants. In the U.S., examples of other imperiled checkerspot butterflies include the Taylor’s checkerspot, which has been a candidate species since 2001 and has lost 99% of its habitat; the Quino checkerspot, listed as endangered and whose recovery plan cites climate change as a threat; the bay checkerspot butterfly, listed as threatened and facing severe climate change threats; and the island checkerspot, which is critically imperiled but not federally protected. View the federal register notice. View the original 2007 petition. |
|
|
info@wildearthguardians.org | © WildEarth Guardians | Historical Archives | Privacy Policy