Conservationists Sue to Protect Sand Mountain blue butterfly in Nevada

[Mike Quinn]

washingtonpost.com  > Nation  > Wires

Conservationists Sue to Protect Butterfly 

By SCOTT SONNER
The Associated Press
Friday, January 6, 2006; 9:39 AM

RENO, Nev., Jan. 5 - Conservationists sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service on Thursday seeking protection for a rare butterfly they say is
threatened by off-road vehicles at one of the largest sand dunes in the
West. 

     Environmentalists want the agency to declare the Sand Mountain blue
butterfly an endangered species because, they say, its habitat is being
destroyed at the only place it is known to live - the Sand Mountain
Recreation Area in western Nevada. 

       The Bureau of Land Management controls activities at the dune,
which is 600 feet tall and stretches for two miles. It attracts an
estimated 50,000 off-roaders annually on motorcycles, dune buggies and
all-terrain vehicles. 

       The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Sacramento, Calif.,
accuses the agency of violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to
respond to petitions since April 2004 seeking federal protection for the
butterfly. The act requires the government to provide a preliminary
response to such petitions within 90 days and often again within a year.


       The Fish and Wildlife Service hopes to spend about $35,000 on a
90-day review - probably beginning in June - to determine whether there
is enough evidence to warrant a full, yearlong review of the butterfly,
Williams said. 

       The butterfly depends on a unique shrub, the Kearney buckwheat,
which covers about 1,000 of the recreation area's 4,795 acres. It is
found nowhere else. 

full text:
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 Conservationists Sue to Protect Butterfly
Washington Post, United States - 2 hours ago
By SCOTT SONNER. RENO, Nev. -- Conservationists sued the US Fish and
Wildlife Service on Thursday seeking protection for a rare butterfly ...

 
Update 1: Conservationists Sue to Protect Butterfly
Forbes - 12 hours ago
By SCOTT SONNER , 01.06.2006, 12:04 AM. Conservationists sued the US
Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday seeking protection for ... 
 
Conservationists sue over Nev. butterfly
Seattle Post Intelligencer - 17 hours ago
By SCOTT SONNER. RENO, Nev. -- Conservationists filed a lawsuit against
the US Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday, seeking federal ... 
 
Lawsuit filed over Sand Mt. blue butterfly
Lahontan Valley News, NV - 9 hours ago
A group of environmental organizations claims the US Fish and Wildlife
Service in Nevada is dragging its feet over protecting habitat for the
Sand Mountain ... 
 
Regional Briefing
Arizona Daily Star, AZ - 10 hours ago
RENO - Conservationists filed a lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife
Service on Thursday to protect a rare Nevada butterfly against off-road
vehicles at ... 
 
Conservationists Sue to Protect Butterfly
Leading The Charge, Australia - 11 hours ago
By SCOTT SONNER, 43 minutes ago. RENO, Nev. - Conservationists sued the
US Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday seeking protection ... 
 
ATVs vs. rare butterfly in ESA lawsuit at Nevada sand dune
KRNV, NV - 17 hours ago
Conservationists filed a lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife
Service in an ongoing battle over protection of a rare Nevada butterfly
and off-road vehicle ... 
 
Conservationists Sue Over Nev. Butterfly
Ely Times,  USA - 17 hours ago
By SCOTT SONNER, 4 minutes ago. RENO, Nev. - Conservationists filed a
lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday ... 
 
GROUPS MOVE TO PROTECT GREAT BASIN DUNES BUTTERFLY AND HABITAT
Center for Biological Diversity (press release), AZ - Jan 4, 2006
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Responding to an environmental emergency in the
Great Basin Desert, a coalition of conservation groups today ... 
 
Conservationists sue to protect butterfly
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - 9 hours ago
RENO, Nev. - Conservationists sued the US Fish and Wildlife Service on
Thursday seeking protection for a rare butterfly they say ... 
 
 Conservationists Sue to Protect Butterfly
CBS News - 12 hours ago
(AP) Conservationists sued the US Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday
seeking protection for a rare butterfly they say is threatened by
off-road vehicles at ... 
 
Conservationists Sue to Protect Butterfly
ABC News - 12 hours ago
This undated image provided by the Bureau of land Management, shows the
Sand Mountain blue butterfly at the Sand Mountain Recreation Area, east
of Fallon, Nev. ... 
 
 Conservationists Sue Over Nev. Butterfly
CBS News - 17 hours ago
(AP) Conservationists filed a lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife
Service on Thursday, seeking federal protections for a rare Nevada
butterfly against off ... 
 
Conservationists Sue Over Nev. Butterfly
Los Angeles Times, CA - 17 hours ago
By SCOTT SONNER, Associated Press Writer. RENO, Nev. -- Conservationists
filed a lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife Service ... 
 
Conservationists sue over Nev. butterfly
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - 17 hours ago
RENO, Nev. - Conservationists filed a lawsuit against the US Fish and
Wildlife Service on Thursday, seeking federal protections ... 
 
Conservationists Sue Over Nev. Butterfly
Forbes - 17 hours ago
By SCOTT SONNER , 01.05.2006, 06:49 PM. Conservationists filed a lawsuit
against the US Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday, seeking ... 
 
Conservationists Sue Over Nev. Butterfly
Brocktown News,  USA - 14 hours ago
By SCOTT SONNER, Thu Jan 5, 6:49 PM ET. RENO, Nev. - Conservationists
filed a lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife Service on ... 



 


 
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