Island Marble Butterfly Habitat Tour!
Sunday, May 21st, 2-5pm
Hosted by the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank ~
https://sjclandbank.org/event/island-marble-habitat-tour/
This tour of South San Juan Island will include stops at three sites where landowners are making new habitat for Island Marble Butterfly. Attendees will learn about the different habitat creation methods being tested, what the butterfly needs to survive, and how anyone can get involved to help this rare animal.
This event is in partnership with US Fish and Wildlife Service, WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, San Juan Islands Conservation District, San Juan Preservation Trust, Ecostudies Institute. the National Park Service, and On Sacred Ground.
Registration is required. R.S.V.P. to Tanja Williamson at 360-378-4402 or email tanjaw@sjclandbank.org.
Hosted by the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank ~
https://sjclandbank.org/event/island-marble-habitat-tour/
This tour of South San Juan Island will include stops at three sites where landowners are making new habitat for Island Marble Butterfly. Attendees will learn about the different habitat creation methods being tested, what the butterfly needs to survive, and how anyone can get involved to help this rare animal.
This event is in partnership with US Fish and Wildlife Service, WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, San Juan Islands Conservation District, San Juan Preservation Trust, Ecostudies Institute. the National Park Service, and On Sacred Ground.
Registration is required. R.S.V.P. to Tanja Williamson at 360-378-4402 or email tanjaw@sjclandbank.org.
Island Marble Butterfly Hub - A website for all things IMB:
www.islandmarblebutterflyhub.org
To Donate directly to the Island Marble Butterfly Volunteer Program, click the button below:
Purchase a sticker to support Island Marble Butterflies:
- Sticker proceeds benefit the Island Marble Butterfly Volunteer Program
- Sticker cost helps us offset the cost of printing, paypal/square percentages and shipping
- Sticker size is 4" x 2.79"
- Help support the long-term recovery plan for a federally listed imperiled species
- A huge thanks to artist Jill Bliss for her rendition of the Island Marble Butterfly in its native habitat, ©2022 of www.JillBliss.com
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To purchase sticker for $7.50, click the button below:
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On Sacred Ground has a cooperative agreement with the US Fish & Wildlife Service to create a specific volunteer program to support Island Marble Butterfly. The volunteer program launched in September 2022 and will support habitat creation and maintenance.
To sign up as a volunteer for the Island Marble Butterfly Program, contact Walt Andrews, Volunteer Coordinator: vc(at)onsacredgroundlandtrust.org
Collaborators for the Island Marble Butterfly volunteer program include the San Juan Island Conservation District & Friends of San Juans.
To sign up as a volunteer for the Island Marble Butterfly Program, contact Walt Andrews, Volunteer Coordinator: vc(at)onsacredgroundlandtrust.org
Collaborators for the Island Marble Butterfly volunteer program include the San Juan Island Conservation District & Friends of San Juans.
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Walt Andrews & Sarah Hanson present for Washington Butterfly Association - February 2023
"Current Status of the Endangered Island Marble Butterfly"
Jenny Shrum collects DNA samples for Island Marble Butterfly - Summer 2022
The United State Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) identified the need to determine the genetic variability within the remaining populations of Euchloe ausonides insulanus, more commonly known as island marble butterflies (IMB), on San Juan Island as a critical conservation goal. It is the last known location where these butterflies are found. In 2022, Karen Reagan from FWS fostered a collaborative effort between the United States Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center (USGS), the University of Florida, Jaret Daniels Lab (UF) and the National Park Service, San Juan Island National Historical Park (NPS) to passively gather samples from which to extract DNA and elucidate genetic markers.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service determined that elucidating the genetic markers of island marble butterflies was a crucial component to measuring the current diversity of the population and developing conservation strategies that maintain that diversity. In 2022, over two hundred samples were collected and sent to the Eastern Ecological Science Center Leetown Lab for processing. All of these samples were taken passively meaning they had negligible effect on the butterflies. For example, no wings were cut, or legs removed. Instead, technicians captured excreted fluid and exoskeleton sheds obtained in the rearing lab. These non-invasive techniques are crucial because so few butterflies remain. These samples will help the USGS identify markers that will initially quantify diversity, but could also lead to the capacity to distinguish individuals. This would provide researchers a powerful tool to answer island marble butterfly life history questions that have thus far remained a mystery.
On Sacred Ground leads Island Marble Butterfly Captive Propagation Under the Leadership of Jenny Shrum from 2020-2022
2020-2021: The IMB Rearing Lab collected more individuals than ever before and fostered 258 chrysalides into the 2021 season for release-- nearly doubling the 2019 season results. The lab successfully released 121 adults into quality habitat at American Camp. 82 surveys were conducted which were completed throughout the eight-week flight season across six pre-established transect sites and butterflies were encountered 134 times.
2020-2021: The IMB Rearing Lab collected more individuals than ever before and fostered 258 chrysalides into the 2021 season for release-- nearly doubling the 2019 season results. The lab successfully released 121 adults into quality habitat at American Camp. 82 surveys were conducted which were completed throughout the eight-week flight season across six pre-established transect sites and butterflies were encountered 134 times.
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Photo Left; A later stage instar munches on Brassica Rapa flower buds 2021-2022: Due to concerns about over-collection, the IMB Rearing Lab reduced its IMB juvenile harvest to 259 individuals and fostered the creation of 224 chrysalides for release in the spring of 2022—35 fewer than in 2020. The lab successfully released 250 adults into quality habitat at American Camp. 100 surveys were completed throughout the nine-week flight season across six pre-established transect sites and butterflies were encountered 217 times (compared to 134 in 2020). |