Environment: Federal protection sought for 12 area species

A coalition of environmental and scientific organizations filed petitions with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Dec. 10 and 12 to put 12 Puget Sound area species on the federal endangered species list.

Among the species are the island marble butterfly, which was thought extinct until rediscovered on San Juan Island in 1998; and the streaked horned lark, common in the San Juans until 1950. Petitioners say about 200 pairs remain in south Puget Sound, on islands near the mouth of the Columbia River and in scattered sites in the Willamette Valley.

One of the species, the Mardon skipper butterfly, is listed on the state’s Endangered Species List.

Petitioners say the 12 species depend on prairies and oak woodlands for their survival — areas they say are being “devoured” by sprawl.

“Prairies are one of Puget Sound’s more important, most endangered and most forgotten ecosystems,” said Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity. “When prairies are gobbled up by sprawl, the quality of human life suffers and animals are driven extinct.”

Stephanie Buffum, executive director of Friends of the San Juans, added, “The streaked horned lark, northern goshawk and Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly are already gone from the San Juan Islands. We have to do everything in our power to save the island marble (butterfly). A part of the mystery and beauty that is the San Juan Islands disappears with every species that becomes extinct.”

The streaked horned lark, eight pocket-gopher subspecies, the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly and the Mardon skipper butterfly are listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as candidates for addition to the endangered species list. By definition, candidates are known to be endangered, but their protection is delayed. The Mardon skipper has been on the candidate list for 13 years; the pocket gophers, 17 years.

“No imperiled species should have to wait 20 years to be protected,” Suckling said. “The money needed to save them is a drop in the bucket compared to the federal budget.”

Joining the Center for Biological Diversity and the Friends of the San Juans in the petitions are the Xerces Society, Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, Oregon Natural Resources Council, Gifford Pinchot Task Force, and The Northwest Environmental Defense Center.

On the petition list:

— Streaked horned lark, a small, ground-dwelling songbird with conspicuous feather tufts, or "horns," on its head. Its back is heavily streaked with black, contrasting sharply with its deeply ruddy nape and yellow underparts.

— Island marble butterfly, a white and greenish butterfly with a marbled texture under the hind wing and a wingspan of approximately 45 millimeters. Thought extinct since the 1920s, the island marble was rediscovered on San Juan Island in 1998.

The Island marble butterfly was discovered on San Juan Island by a butterfly expert who was surveying the island for the State Natural Heritage Program, according to Thor Hanson of the San Juan County Land Bank. The Island marble butterfly was seen again this year.

— Mardon skipper butterfly, a small, tawny-orange butterfly. It once ranged across the extensive fescue-dominated grasslands of Washington, Oregon and northwest California. Today, an estimated 50 butterflies remain in south Puget Sound, the Cascade Mountains in southern Washington, the Siskiyou Mountains in southern Oregon, and coastal northern California.

— Taylor's Checkerspot Butterfly , a colorfully checkered butterfly with a wingspan of less than 2.25 inches. Once common to grasslands, prairies and oak woodlands of Vancouver Island, the Puget Sound basin, and the Willamette Valley, only four populations remain today and only one of them has more than 50 individuals.

— Cathlamet pocket gopher, known only from the type locality in Wahkiakum County.

— Olympic pocket gopher, found in higher elevations of the Olympic National Park in Clallam County.

— Shelton pocket gopher, found only at the Shelton airport in Mason County and on penitentiary grounds near Shelton.

— Roy Prairie pocket gopher, found only in Roy Prairie in Pierce County. A small population was found south of Roy, and populations were detected nearby on Fort Lewis.

— Olympia pocket gopher, found in small numbers in Thurston County.

— Tenino pocket gopher, also found in Thurston County and possibly extinct.

— Yelm pocket gopher, found mostly in Thurston County. Several relatively large populations were detected on Johnson and Weir prairies on Fort Lewis near the town of Rainier.

— Tacoma pocket gopher, once found in Pierce County, may be extinct.

Endangered, threatened species in the San Juans

In Washington state, 26 species are listed on the state’s endangered species list; of those, 12 are on the federal endangered list, four are considered threatened and two are candidates for listing.

In Washington state, 11 species are listed on the state’s threatened species; of those, six are on the federal endangered list and one is a candidates for listing.

Species common to the San Juans that are considered “endangered” by the federal government are the bald eagle, humpback whale, marbled murrelet, and the steller sea lion.

In April, the peregrine falcon was downlisted by the state from “endangered” to "sensitive" because populations of the bird are reportedly recovering. It was the first time in its history that the state Fish and Wildlife Commission downlisted a state endangered species.

In July, the National Marine Fisheries Service listed the Southern Resident killer whales as “depleted;” petitioners led by the Center for Biological Diversity had sought endangered species protection because of the decline in the local population.

To review the species listed as endangered or threatened in Washington state, visit www.wa.gov/wdfw/wlm/diversty/soc/endanger.htm

— Richard Walker of islandsweekly.net contributed to this story.

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