The Silverspot Butterfly Recovery Efforts

Location:

Oregon, Washington, and California

What challenges were faced and how were they overcome?

In the early stages of the project, a significant barrier was an attitude among some Forest Service personnel that threatened and endangered species were an impediment to other activities in the Pacific Northwest, namely timber sales. This belief made it difficult to maintain funding and ensure continuity for the silverspot effort and other threatened species management projects. According to Oregon State University entomologist Paul Hammond, attitudes towards threatened and endangered species management have changed dramatically over the course of the silverspot effort and that a "new breed of forest managers are much more aware and sensitive about these types of projects." He cited the example of a proposed timber sale in the nearby Siskiyou National Forest that was cancelled due to the discovery of another endangered insect.

In the course of the project, differences of opinion have also occurred between the Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy regarding the appropriateness of particular management practices. According to Paul Hammond, the Forest Service manages for butterfly habitat by mowing the tall, weedy vegetation while The Nature Conservancy has been using prescribed fire (a natural, pre-European disturbance) as their management tool. The two organizations could have parted ways in the face of disagreement, but they did not. Instead they proceeded with different management practices on the National Forest and The Nature Conservancy preserve, while clearing all management actions with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as required under the Endangered Species Act. The two groups closely monitor the results of their different management strategies, sharing observations and research efforts, and their relationship remains intact.

Another obstacle the silverspot management efforts have faced is a lack of staff continuity in the national forest. Hammond explained that frequent transfers of staff at the forest level have made it difficult to have consistency of staff involved in the project. He felt that it was helpful to have someone like him who has a history with the project to "pass the ball" from the old staff to new members; he explained that he has "been able to fill the role as far as continuity." In the last few years, the ranger district has also lost a number of its personnel, so fewer staff are now available to conduct on-the-ground management work, such as mowing the meadows that provide silverspot habitat (for the grasslands the butterflies require are succeeding quickly to brush and trees). As a result, the agency has recently begun to contract out the mowing work, but such arrangements require significant funds.

The silverspot management efforts have had to deal with serious funding shortages over the years. USFS Forest Coordinator for the Silverspot Butterfly Michael Clady noted the problem of competition for limited resources with other endangered species. For example, he explained that it was typically harder to obtain funds for the silverspot butterfly than for the Marbled Murrelet, an endangered species whose protection has broader social and economic impacts. These budget deficiencies led to creative efforts to generate resources to support the program, including cost-sharing arrangements with The Nature Conservancy and cooperative agreements with the Oregon Department of Transportation. Through the cost-share agreements, The Nature Conservancy does significant monitoring and management work on the silverspot butterfly on Forest Service land, including doing population census. Funding shortages, however, have enhanced the importance of collaboration in the silverspot management efforts. As Clady noted, "When money is harder to get…collaborative work becomes more important." He continued, "That's why it was easier to get money for Challenge Cost Share. It's a good way for us to continue to feel good - that we're holding our own in the project, without having it all come out of our pockets.

In recent years, the funding situation has changed. Michael Clady remarked that, "it's almost to the point now where money is not the limiting factor, it's personnel. We have about 1/5 the budget and 1/5 the people we had in 1995. So even though in the past few years it's been easier to get money, we can't get experienced people to do it." In addition, the butterfly populations have not done well throughout the range. According to Paul Hammond, "the 2002 butterfly census found butterfly populations within the Siuslaw National Forest at Rock Creek and Mt. Hebo have been doing really well" while butterfly populations on The Nature Conservancy property at Cascade Head have dropped to dangerously low numbers.

In response to seriously low population levels in some areas, the USFWS has teamed up with The Nature Conservancy, the Oregon Zoo, and Lewis and Clark College to rear silverspot butterflies in captivity. This program, started in the summer of 2000, is a collaborative step to work to save populations in areas where the future of the silverspot is critical.

This site was developed by the Ecosystem Management Initiative through a partnership with the US Forest Service and the US Department of Interior. Read more.