This Taylor's checkerspot butterfly is just one of
three butterfly species that the Xerces Society has petitioned to have
listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Please
click here For more information about this butterfly.
Photo by Dana Ross.
The Xerces Society and a coalition of conservation organizations has petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to have three butterflies - the Taylor's checkerspot (Euphydryas editha taylori), Mardon skipper (Polites mardon), and island marble (Euchloe ausonides insulanus) - listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act. All of these species are nearing extinction because less than one percent of their prairie habitats still remains.
All of these butterflies can be found in the Puget Sound area. In addition, two populations of the Taylor's checkerspot are found in the Willamette Valley near Corvallis, Oregon. A handful of populations of Mardon skipper occur in native grasslands around Mt. Adams in Washington, near Ashland in southern Oregon, and on the north coast of California in Del Norte County.
Agricultural and urban development, encroachment of trees, and spread of invasive plants all threaten the native grasslands in which these butterflies are found. In addition, pesticide use, recreational activities and grazing pose a direct threat to the butterflies themselves.
The Taylor's checkerspot can only be found at fourteen sites, most of which contain fewer than fifty individuals based on surveys conducted between 2002 and 2004. The island marble is found at only one site on San Juan Island and has become locally extinct on Vancouver Island. The Mardon skipper occupies a wider area than the other two butterflies, but it has recently been extirpated from four sites in south Puget Sound and one in the southern Washington Cascades. Its current status at four other sites in Washington is uncertain.
We are collaborating with the Nature Conservancy, local land trusts, and private landowners to purchase important sites. We provided training to Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management biologists on how to spot the Mardon skipper and manage its habitat. We also continue to search for additional populations of these butterflies. In addition to these efforts, filing the petitions enabled us to raise awareness through numerous media stories about vanishing prairies in the Willamette Valley and the Puget Trough.
Please see below for more information about the butterflies, including recent sitings, photographs, petitions, and survey forms: