Fender's Blue, Federally listed: J (fwd)
John Shuey
jshuey at tnc.org
Wed Feb 2 07:33:22 EST 2000
Interestingly, The Oregon Field Office of The Nature Conservancy has been working
this ecosystem for quite a while. The following information is based on my
recollection of a presentation I saw a some national meeting, at some point in my
life, maybe 4 years ago or so. Hence don't quote this for detailed accuracy -
the basics are true but the facts might very in detail.
Based on population structure studies of Fender's blue and endemic plants, the
OR-TNC Office initiated a "Willamette Prairie" restoration effort about 5 years
ago. The goals of the restoration are to increase available habitat and
population size of all imperiled and native species in the system (not just the
few that the feds deemed worthy of protection), and to restore the artificially
shattered population structure from a badly functioning metapopulation into
something resembling more of a dynamic patchy population. The goal is to restore
somewhere 2-3,000 acres, creating a viable site for this community type. A
series of the best prairie remnants were selected to be re-connected via
restoration. As I recall, Peter Kareiva was involved in the design and
theoretical research that formed the underpinning of the site design and he a
grad students are monitoring the population responses as the restoration
proceeds.
I think the total cost of this effort was estimated to be arournd US $10M, mostly
private (TNC) money.
--
John Shuey
Director of Conservation Science
Indiana Office of The Nature Conservancy
phone: 317-923-7547
fax: 317-923-7582
email: Jshuey at tnc.org
Neil at NWJONES.DEMON.CO.UK wrote:
> Forwarded message follows:
>
> > From: Mike Quinn <MQnature at TAMU.EDU>
> > To: DPLEX-L at UKANS.EDU
> > Subject: Fender's Blue, Federally listed: Jan. 25, '00, Oregon
> >
> > Per Paul A. Opler:
> >
> > Icaricia icariodes fenderi, a subspecies of Boisduval's Blue.
> >
> > -------------------
> >
> > <http://www.r1.fws.gov/news/2000-14.htm>
> >
> > U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Pacific Region
> >
> > Oregon State Office
> > 2600 S.E. 98th Avenue, Suite 100
> > Portland, Oregon 97266
> > Phone: 503-231-6179
> > Fax: 503-231-6195
> >
> > 00-14
> > Contact: Phil Carroll or Barbara Todd- 503-231-6179
> > For Release: January 25, 2000
> >
> > U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE LISTS BUTTERFLY AND TWO PLANTS FROM REMNANT
> > NATIVE PRAIRIE OF OREGON'S WILLAMETTE VALLEY
> >
> > Three species which occur on the last small
> > patches of native prairie in the Willamette Valley will now be protected
> > under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today
> > listed the Fender's blue butterfly and the Willamette daisy as endangered,
> > and the Kincaid's lupine as threatened.
> >
> > A species is listed as endangered when it is in
> > danger of becoming extinct in the foreseeable future. A threatened
> > designation means a species is likely to become an endangered species
> > within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of
> > its range.
> >
> > "Land survey records from the 1850's tell us
> > native prairie covered more than a million acres in the Willamette Valley
> > before European-American settlement," said Anne Badgley, regional director
> > of the Fish and Wildlife Service's six-state Pacific Region. "During the
> > past 140 years, an estimated 99 percent of this native prairie has been
> > turned into farmland. Listing these three species will help us to protect
> > the remnants of the prairie and other species that depend on it."
> >
> > The Fender's blue butterfly is a small,
> > cobalt-blue butterfly that occurs in 32 small sites totaling 408 acres.
> > Twenty-four of these populations occupy sites of eight acres or less. Most
> > of these populations are in decline, and 19 contain fewer than 50
> > individuals. Fourteen sites are on federal, state, county, or city lands.
> > The remainder are on private lands.
> >
> > Once thought to be extinct, the Fender's blue
> > butterfly was known only from collections made between 1929 and 1937.
> > Despite widespread searches, lack of information on the butterfly's host
> > plant prevented researchers from targeting a particular species of lupine
> > preferred by the butterfly. Dr. Paul Hammond rediscovered the Fender's blue
> > butterfly in 1989 on an uncommon species of lupine at McDonald Forest in
> > Benton Count. His discovery of the butterfly allowed the rare host lupine
> > to be identified as Kincaid's lupine.
> >
> > Adult blue butterflies lay their eggs on lupine
> > plants during May and June. Newly hatched caterpillars feed and develop on
> > the host plant until they transform into adult butterflies the following
> > spring. Kincaid's lupine is also found in Willamette Valley dry prairie as
> > well as in open oak woodlands from Douglas County, Ore., to Lewis County,
> > Wash.
> >
> > The lupine, listed as threatened by the State of
> > Oregon, produces a stalk of blue-purple to yellow flowers and reaches 2 to
> > 3 feet in height. It is a long-lived perennial species that can form large
> > clones from an extensive system of rhizomes, or underground stems.
> >
> > Kincaid's lupine occurs at 54 remnant native
> > prairie locations totaling 370 acres with 45 of these sites smaller than 8
> > acres in size. These locations are predominantly roadside and fence line
> > sites where fragments of native prairie have escaped destruction. Twenty
> > nine are on federal, state, county, or city lands. The remainder are on
> > private lands.
> >
> > The Willamette daisy, listed as endangered by the
> > State of Oregon, is found primarily in wetter, low-lying native prairie in
> > the Willamette Valley. The daisy is a low-growing perennial that produces
> > pink to pale-blue ray flowers and yellow disk flowers. Historically known
> > from locations as far north as the Portland area, the Willamette daisy has
> > been reduced to 28 remnant populations on 286 acres. Twenty of these sites
> > are smaller than eight acres in size. These sites lie mostly along
> > roadsides and marginal areas. Eleven sites are on federal, state, county,
> > or city lands while the remainder are on private land.
> >
> > Of the 88 remnant prairie sites, Fender's blue
> > butterfly and Kincaid's lupine occur together at 26 sites. All three
> > species occur together in only one prairie remnant.
> >
> > All three species are threatened by habitat loss
> > due to agricultural activities, urban development, roadside maintenance,
> > and herbicide application. Since most of the sites where the butterfly and
> > two plants occur are small and isolated, a single project, such as
> > construction of a driveway or realignment of a fence, is capable of
> > destroying an entire population. If the current trend in habitat loss
> > continues, the extinction of most of the small populations of all three
> > species is anticipated within five years.
> >
> > The Endangered Species Act does not prohibit
> > "take," harm or destruction, of listed plants on private lands, but
> > landowners must comply with state laws protecting imperiled plants.
> > Consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are necessary for
> > private and other landowners only when Federal funding or permits are
> > required for activities that may affect listed species.
> >
> > Native plants are important for their ecological,
> > economic, and aesthetic values. Plants play an important role in
> > development of crops that resist disease, insects, and drought. At least 25
> > percent of prescription drugs contain ingredients derived from plant
> > compounds, including medicine used to treat cancer, heart disease, juvenile
> > leukemia, and malaria, as well as that used to assist organ transplants.
> > Plants are also used to develop natural pesticides.
> >
> > The service published its final rule to list the
> > fender's blue butterfly and willamette daisy as endangered and the
> > kincaid's lupine as threatened in today's federal register.
> >
> > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
> > Mike Quinn, Texas A&M Univ., Dept. of Entomology
> > Biological Control Facility, Rm 122A Ph: 409/845-2893
> > 206 Luther Street Apt. D College Station, TX 77840-6166
> > Insect Information: http://insects.tamu.edu/entoweb/
> >
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> >
> >
> >
>
> --
> Neil Jones- Neil at nwjones.demon.co.uk http://www.nwjones.demon.co.uk/
> "At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
> butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn Bog
> National Nature Reserve
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