26,000 ACRES PROPOSED FOR BAY CHECKERSPOT BUTTERFLY - Oct. 25, 20 00

[Mike Quinn]

10/25/2000
26,000 ACRES PROPOSED FOR BAY CHECKERSPOT BUTTERFLY

In keeping with a court order won by the Center for Biological Diversity,
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service proposed on 10-16-00 to designate 26,182
acres of "critical habitat" for the endangered Bay checkerspot butterfly.
Critical habitat includes all areas necessary for the survival and full
recovery of the species. It is protected from federal projects for permits
which would destroy or harm it. 

The Bay Checkerspot Butterfly depends on host plants which grow primarily in
grasslands on serpentine soils, a bluish-green soil type that is naturally
highly mineralized, high in magnesium, and low in nitrogen and calcium. This
specialized soil system is very valuable biologically because it supports a
high percentage of California's endemic species. Unfortunately, the majority
of the checkerspot's serpentine soil habitat in San Mateo and Santa Clara
counties has been destroyed. It is virtually certain to go extinct if its
remaining habitat is not protected. 

In a strongly-worded opinion, federal judge Samuel Conti quoted Congress to
point out the connection between conserving biological diversity and human
welfare: "From the most narrow possible point of view, it is in the best
interests of mankind to minimize the losses of genetic variations....who
knows, or can say, what potential cures for cancer or other scourges...may
lie locked up in the structures of plants which may yet be undiscovered,
much less analyzed?"

The Center's Golden State Biodiversity Initiative has won 530,899 acres of
critical habitat in California since 1997, including 1,000 miles of river.
Another seven million acres have be proposed and are awaiting final
approval.

http://www.sw-center.org/swcbd/alerts/258-888.html

 
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