Island Marble Butterfly Wins Protection at the 11th Hour
Litigation - Article Series from All-Creatures.org Articles Archive

FROM Center for Biological Diversity
May 2020

18 years after we asked the government to save this species, island marble butterflies have been granted protection, along with 812 acres of protected habitat.

Island Marble Butterfly, Image from USFWS

The island marble butterfly, with its beautiful green-and-white wings and furry-looking white head, was deemed extinct for 90 years — until it turned up on Washington state's San Juan Island in the 1990s.

In 2002 the Center and allies petitioned for the butterfly's protection under the Endangered Species Act — and then sued to force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take action on our petition. That petition was denied in 2006, and the butterfly kept declining, from five populations to one.

But now, 18 years after we asked the government to save this species, island marble butterflies have been granted protection, along with 812 acres of protected habitat.

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