In response to a petition from the Center of Biological Diversity submitted in 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Wednesday that the bleached sandhill skipper, an extremely rare species of butterfly only found in far northern Nevada, may warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The act establishes protections for threatened or endangered species, and for preparing and implementing plans for their recovery.
“I’m pleased that the bleached sandhill skipper is crossing this important milestone toward getting vital life-saving protections under the Endangered Species Act,” said Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The window of opportunity to save this butterfly is closing and this decision comes not a moment too soon.”
The skippers live in just two of the state’s alkali wetlands, where they rely on plants for laying eggs and feeding on nectar.
Water diversions for agriculture have dried up Gridley Lake, one of the skippers’ two habitats.
The second habitat, at Baltazor Hot Springs, is threatened by a geothermal energy project that could dry up the hot springs the skippers need to survive.
Bleached sandhill skippers are among more than 300 species and subspecies of plants and animals endemic to Nevada, meaning they exist nowhere else on Earth.
“The bleached sandhill skipper is part of Nevada’s incredible biodiversity that we all rely on for survival,” said Donnelly. “Their fate may seem unimportant to some people, but by saving these butterflies we’re really saving all life on Earth.”
