USF&WS will initiate status review of blue butterfy

[Crowdog]

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| Date: August 8, 2006 | (775) 861-6300|
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U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE TO INITIATE A STATUS REVIEW OF THE
SAND MOUNTAIN BLUE BUTTERFLY

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed an initial evaluation of a petition to add the Sand Mountain blue butterfly (Euphilotes pallescens arenamontana) to the Federal list of threatened or endangered species and determined that substantial biological information exists to warrant an in-depth examination of the butterfly’s status. The finding initiates a 12-month status review of the species. Once the review is complete, the Service will determine whether to propose listing the species as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

"Our finding is based on scientific information contained in the petition to list the butterfly," said Steve Thompson, manager of the California/Nevada Operations Office. "The finding does not mean that the Service has decided it is appropriate to list the Sand Mountain blue butterfly. It is the first step in a process that triggers a more thorough review of all the biological information available. We encourage the public to submit any relevant information about the butterfly and its habitat."

The Sand Mountain blue butterfly is a small, pale-blue butterfly known only to occur at Sand Mountain, a dune system located in Churchill County, Nevada. The butterfly occurs in close association with its host plant, Kearney buckwheat, on an estimated 1,000 acres within and adjacent to the 4,795 acre Sand Mountain Recreation Area managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

The Service’s decision, commonly known as a 90-day finding, is based on scientific and commercial information about the species provided in the petition which was submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity, Xerces Society, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and Nevada Outdoor Recreation Society. The Service published this finding in today’s Federal Register.

This 12-month status review will determine whether the Sand Mountain blue butterfly warrants listing as a threatened or endangered species. To ensure this status review is comprehensive, the Service is soliciting information from state and Federal natural resource agencies and all interested parties regarding the Sand Mountain blue butterfly and its habitat.
Based on the status review, the Service will make one of three possible determinations:
1) Listing is not warranted, in which case no further action will be taken.
2) Listing as threatened or endangered is warranted. In this case, the Service will publish a proposal to list, solicit independent scientific peer review of the proposal, seek input from the public, and consider the input before a final decision about listing the species is made. Generally, there is a one-year period between the time a species is proposed and the final decision.
3) Listing is warranted but precluded by other, higher priority activities.

This means the species is added to the Federal list of candidate species, and the proposal to list is deferred while the Service works on listing proposals for other species that are at greater risk. A warranted but precluded finding requires subsequent annual reviews of the finding until such time as either a listing proposal is published, or a not warranted finding is made based on new information.

As a part of the review, the Service will also consider a public planning effort to develop a conservation plan for the Sand Mountain blue butterfly initiated by the Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance (LVEA).

Participants in this effort include representatives from the LVEA, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Service, the City of Fallon, Churchill County, the Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe, the Friends of Sand Mountain (FOSM), the California Off-Road Vehicle Association (CORVA), the United States Naval Air Station Fallon, and private citizens.

The purpose of this conservation effort is to provide long term protection for the Sand Mountain blue butterfly and its habitat; particularly its host plant, Kearney buckwheat. One of the actions identified in the plan is the designation of a mandatory route system wherein recreation users will be required to stay on established trails within the recreation area to prevent damage to the butteryfly’s habitat. If successfully implemented, this plan could preclude the potential need to list the Sand Mountain blue butterfly as threatened or endangered under the ESA.
To submit information regarding Sand Mountain blue butterfly, write to:
Field Supervisor, 1340 Financial Blvd., Suite 234, Reno, NV 89502. Send electronic mail to sandmtblue@fws.gov. Comments must be received by October 10, 2006.
For more information about the Sand Mountain blue butterfly and this finding, please visit the Service’s web site at. http://www.fws.gov/nevada.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

[Crowdog]

Why the Sand Mountain blue butterfly does not warrant being listed as an endangered species

August 8, 2006
By Jon Crowley

Just today, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Reno, Nevada reported that is had decided to take the next step towards listing the Sand Mountain blue butterfly as a federally protected species under the Endangered Species Act. While this news is not surprising, most folks still fail to grasp the big picture of protecting this little insect that lives in the middle of the Nevada desert.

The Endangered Species Act was passed into law with the noblest of intentions over thirty years ago, but it has become a favorite tool for environmental extremist bent on shutting down access to public land. The original purpose of the act was to protect species like the bald eagle, wolves and grizzly bears. The intent of the act was never to provide protection for species like insects, or subspecies where the species as a whole are not threatened.

What makes the case of the Sand Mountain blue even more frustrating is this butterfly is a subspecies of a larger family of blue butterflies found throughout the Great Basin. When this new butterfly was “discovered” and described back in the 1990’s, there was discussion about whether to lump it in, or split it into a new subspecies. Few people realize that there is absolutely no government oversight over this process of creating a new species or subspecies. The classification of a subspecies is arbitrary, artificial and subjective depending on who's in charge. Some tend to lump and others split. But once this new subspecies has been recognized, it can then have the same full protection under the Endangered Species Act as a bald eagle.

Insects tend to have a smaller range, and often have slight variances based on location. In the case of the Sand Mountain blue butterfly, it has very slight color differences and the size of its genitalia is slightly different from its close cousins. The differences are so slight, that you cannot identify a Sand Mountain blue from the larger family in the field. Are these minor geographical variances worthy of federal protection and the enormous cost associated with protecting it?

The Endangered Species Act has fallen victim to unintended consequences, politics, and counter-productive lawsuits filed by environmental extremists. What was born of a desire to apply American ingenuity to the cause of saving species has become a tool not for species recovery, but for political, ideological, and fundraising goals. It is time to reform the Endangered Species Act, and bring some common sense to species protection, and sensible land use.

[LoBuck]

Good news coming (I hope), Jon.

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

[Crowdog]

Good news coming (I hope), Jon.

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

It would have been good news if the USFWS decided NOT to initiate a review.

[Crowdog]

Feds Agree to Review Rare Nev. Butterfly

By SCOTT SONNER
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 8, 2006; 8:53 PM

RENO, Nev. -- Federal officials agreed Tuesday to conduct a yearlong review of whether a rare Nevada butterfly at one of the largest sand dunes in the West should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

More than two years after conservationists petitioned for a listing, and after a lawsuit was filed, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ruled there is enough scientific data to justify a formal review of the Sand Mountain blue butterfly.

The decision comes over the objections of off-road enthusiasts, but was hailed by environmentalists who want to protect the 4,750-acre Sand Mountain Recreation Area managed by the Bureau of Land Management about 80 miles east of Reno along U.S. 50.

"I don't think this was expected because it has been very, very difficult to get any kind of pro-conservation decision out of the Bush administration," said Daniel Patterson, a desert ecologist for the Center for Biological Diversity based in Arizona.

"What it shows is the overwhelming scientific evidence that the Sand Mountain blue butterfly is in big trouble and not even the administration can deny that. Right now, it is really on its death bed, in critical condition," he told The Associated Press.

His group, along with the Xerces Society, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and Nevada Outdoor Recreation Society first petitioned for the listing in April 2004. In January of this year, they filed a federal lawsuit in Sacramento accusing the agency of violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to respond to the petition.

The act requires the government to provide a preliminary response to petitions within 90 days and often again within a year, but agency officials said they had other priorities.

Steve Thompson, manager of the agency's California-Nevada office, said a preliminary review determined an in-depth examination was warranted. The conclusion triggers a 12-month review to determine whether a listing should be proposed.

"The finding does not mean that the service has decided it is appropriate to list the Sand Mountain blue butterfly. It is the first step in a process that triggers a more thorough review of all the biological information available," Thompson said.

Thompson said the small, pale-blue butterfly with a wingspan of less than an inch is known to exist only at Sand Mountain in Churchill County. It lives in close association with its host plant, Kearney buckwheat, on an estimated 1,000 acres within and next to the BLM recreation area.

"BLM must manage Sand Mountain for true multiple uses, including recovery of the butterfly, not just off-roading," said Charlie Watson, director of the Nevada Outdoor Recreation Association. He said Clayton Valley Dunes near Silver Peak in Esmeralda County is more appropriate for intensive off-roading.

Off-road vehicle groups don't believe the butterfly or its habitat are endangered.

The conservationists' "intent is to shut down Sand Mountain," said Jon Crowley, a member of Friends of Sand Mountain, a four-wheel-drive club that has been encouraging off-roaders to stay out of posted butterfly habitat. "The truth is, they would like to see all off-roading banned from public."

"The biggest problem is the Endangered species Act is slanted toward being too cautious. It really needs to be reformed," Crowley said from his home in California.

Patterson said only a federal listing will save the butterfly at the 600-foot tall, two-mile long sand dune where an ancient lake once existed. Voluntary restrictions on off-road use have been unsuccessful, he said.

"The BLM has allowed 80 percent of the habitat to be destroyed there and refused to protect the remaining habitat," he said. "We certainly aren't going to let the Sand Mountain butterfly go extinct by somebody's idea of fun _ driving all over its habitat."

Patterson said listing the butterfly as endangered would "bring more resources, focus and management to save this species."

"Sand Mountain will not be closed to off-roading. I don't foresee that. That is certainly not our objective."

___

On the Net:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Nevada: http://www.fws.gov/nevada/nv_species/sand_blue.html

Center for Biological Diversity: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/

Friends of Sand Mountain: http://www.sandmountain-nv.org/

[LoBuck]

Good news coming (I hope), Jon.

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

It would have been good news if the USFWS decided NOT to initiate a review.

Thanks for pointing that out Jon. I was completely on the wrong track. I read the headline, took that as good news, posted my comments, and then got side-tracked before I just came back read the whole thing.

Given past history, its usually bad news for us when the land managers didn't (or don't) review species as they should have been.

[Crowdog]

http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/artic ... /108090031

Sand Mountain blue butterfly petition heads for status review

CHRISTY LATTIN, clattin@lahontanvalleynews.com
August 9, 2006

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Tuesday it will initiate a 12-month status review of the Sand Mountain blue butterfly, following its 90-day finding on a petition filed by several environmental groups seeking to list the butterfly as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

The announcement of the status review does not immediately affect the Sand Mountain Recreational Area, said Bob Williams, Nevada field supervisor for the USFWS in Reno.

"This finding carries no regulatory power under the ESA. We're just letting folks know there was a positive finding," Williams said.

In a release from the USFWS, Steve Thompson, manager of the California/Nevada operations office said, "Our finding is based on scientific information contained in the petition to list the butterfly. The finding does not mean that the service has decided it is appropriate to list the Sand Mountain blue butterfly. It is the first step in a process that triggers a more thorough review of all the biological information available. We encourage the public to submit any relevant information about the butterfly and its habitat."

A petition to list the butterfly as threatened or endanger was submitted to the Department of the Interior by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Xerces Society, the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Nevada Outdoor Recreation Association in April 2004.

The groups submitted a 26-page petition which lists the species of the blue butterfly, its host plant the Kearney buckwheat and evidence of the plant's declining habitat at Sand Mountain. The petition contains satellite photos showing an increase in the number of trails at the site as well as photos taken over a 26-year span that illustrates the decline in the buckwheat. The petition extrapolated that since the buckwheat habitat has declined, the butterfly is threatened.

Daniel Patterson, ecologist and director of the Deserts and Endangered Species Outreach for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the positive result of the 90-day finding is a benefit to the butterfly.

"From a conservation perspective, we will consider this a very good thing to prevent it from going extinct," he said. "Without some real protection, the Sand Mountain blue could be lost forever."

Patterson said there are only 1,000 acres left "on the whole planet" for the Sand Mountain blue and conservation groups would like to see it protected.

Off-road groups, however, see the positive 90-day finding as a step closer to listing the butterfly as endangered. Jon Crowley, owner of DuneGuide.com and past president of the Friends of Sand Mountain off-road vehicle group, said in a prepared statement the blue butterfly is just a subspecies of a larger group of butterflies found in the Great Basin with slight color and genitalia differences.

Crowley also said "classification of a subspecies is arbitrary, artificial and subjective depending on who's in charge. But once this new subspecies has been recognized, it can then have the same full protection under the Endangered Species Act as a bald eagle.

"Are these minor geographical variances worthy of federal protection and the enormous cost associated with protecting it? The Endangered Species Act has fallen victim to unintended consequences, politics, and counter-productive lawsuits filed by environmental extremists."

Crowley ended his statement by calling for the reform of the Endangered Species Act.

Williams said the conservation plan, which was agreed upon by Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance, the Bureau of Land Management, the city and county, the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe and two off-road vehicle groups, will be taken into consideration by the USFWS when conducting the 12-month status review.

Williams said he was pleased to see the various groups working together to help mitigate the threats against the butterfly. He said the 12-month status review will be conducted by a USFWS staff botanist and will be concluded by April 2007. The 90-day finding is calculated into the 12-month review.

[L&L Corvairs]

Sorry about the FWS review, but your comments are right on!! Keep up the good work.