ONE OF NATION'S RAREST BUTTERFLIES STILL AT RISK

November 14, 2006

Contacts:
Scott Hoffman Black, Executive Director, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation; 503-449-3792

Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity; 503-484-7495

SEATTLE, WA- Responding to a petition from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the San Juans, and Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) today issued a 12-month finding for the Island Marble Butterfly. Today's decision resulted from a settlement agreement between the groups and USFWS.

The 12-month finding indicated listing is not warranted.

"We are highly disappointed by this decision," said Scott Hoffman Black, Executive Director of the Xerces Society. "There are less than a thousand island marble butterflies left and there are multiple threats that could lead to their extinction. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the failure of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take protective actions for this rare butterfly."

Before its rediscovery on San Juan Island in 1998, the Island Marble had been believed extinct for 90 years.

In 2005, two hundred twenty-five surveys were conducted at 110 potential Island Marble sites by staff from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Natural Resources, the Xerces Society, and local volunteers. As a result of these searches, Island Marble butterflies were found at eleven new locations, although none of the sites had more than five individuals. The surveys also helped determine the extent of the original population at San Juan Island National Historical Park American Camp. The vast majority of the butterflies - and the only viable populations - are located at American Camp. Many of the individuals found at the new locations are likely strays from this main site.

Coastal shoreline and adjacent prairie on San Juan Island are vital habitat for the survival of the only known viable populations of Island Marble. It is one of a suite of species that depend on the once extensive prairies found in the Puget Trough. These prairies have declined to less than 3% of their historic extent. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission recently approved listing three other prairie species - the Taylor's Checkerspot Butterfly, Streaked Horned Lark, and Mazama Pocket Gopher - for protection as threatened or endangered species under the state Endangered Species Act. The listings are effective March 2nd. These species also are all officially recognized as candidates for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The USFWS under the Bush Administration, however, has been slow to provide such protection for additional species under the federal Endangered Species Act, so far only protecting 56 species in five years, compared to 512 under the Clinton Administration and 234 under the senior Bush Administration.

The Bush Administration argues they have listed fewer species because their resources have been tied-up by lawsuits. Funds for litigation, however, come primarily from the Department of Justice rather than Fish and Wildlife's budget for listing new species. Moreover, the Bush Administration actually has more money for listing of species than previous administrations and is thus not surprisingly, listing fewer species per million dollars than the previous administration (see http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/ESAreport-revised.pdf). Indeed, all of the 56 species protected by the administration were done so under one or more court orders.

"The Endangered Species Act provides real protection to the nation's wildlife and is immensely effective at saving species from extinction," states Noah Greenwald, conservation biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. "The Island Marble and three other Puget Prairie animals are threatened by residential development and invasive species and need the protection of the Endangered Species Act to avoid extinction."

The biggest current threat to the Island Marble is mismanagement of its habitat at San Juan Island National Historical Park American Camp, where the only known viable populations reside. Shunning the advice of Island Marble experts, American Camp staff sprayed herbicide on over five acres within the Park as part of a prairie-restoration project in 2005. This herbicide use devastated core habitat for the Island Marble and likely killed dozens of larvae feeding on plants at the site. The park has now refused to work with conservationists to ensure that habitat is managed properly.

Protection under the Endangered Species Act would ensure that managers at American Camp actively work to protect the Island Marble. It would also provide additional funding for further surveys and research.

For photos or more information on this issue see:

http://www.xerces.org/Endangered/islandmarble.htm

or

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/ecosystems/pugetsound/index.html

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