Award-Winning Help for Endangered Butterflies
Female Karner Blue Butterfly
Male Karner Blue Butterfly
"In recognition of outstanding partnership efforts to conserve the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly"
That's the inscription on a plaque the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service presented to WPS in May 2010. The Karner Blue Butterfly was once common in the Midwest. But it has found itself on the endangered species list. It's in danger of becoming extinct because it is losing its natural habitat, mostly due to natural changes and the development of agricultural, residential and commercial areas.
WPS participates in Wisconsin's Karner Blue Butterfly Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The plan, established in 1999, encourages creative partnerships between public and private sectors and government agencies in the interest of species and habitat conservation.
The Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis), was federally listed as an endangered species in 1992. Although the species is federally endangered and is rare nationwide, it is relatively common in central Wisconsin, especially in sandy soils where Pine Barrens, oak savannas, and mowed corridors support wild lupine, the only food of the Karner blue caterpillar. Many of the power and gas lines located in Portage and Waupaca Counties are located within the insect's High Potential Range (the area most likely to support the species).
Wisconsin's statewide HCP, the only statewide HCP in the nation, provides "incidental take permit coverage" to all HCP participants. By participating in the HCP, the company commits to survey lands where ground-disturbing activity will take place within the butterfly's range. If the butterfly is found, land management activities are adjusted to eliminate or reduce impacts to the endangered insect.
For more information regarding Karner Blue Butterfly management in Wisconsin, visit the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website.