Island Marble Butterfly Public Meeting

The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are inviting landowners - especially those with open, grassy landscapes - to attend this meeting to find out how enrolling in a voluntary program, a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA), can help conserve the rare, Island Marble Butterfly, a species that could soon be listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The CCAA is a conservation tool under the ESA. Conservation measures outlined in the Island Marble Butterfly CCAA’s include creating patches of habitat, limiting disturbance to habitat patches, potentially protecting patches through fencing and potentially allowing deer hunting to limit deer consumption of the plants that butterflies depend upon. Landowners enrolled in a CCAA - including those engaged in agriculture, ranching, recreation, and other activities - would experience no risk of violating the ESA by inadvertently killing or injuring the butterflies so long as they participate in agreed conservation measures. Landowners can also withdraw from the CCAA at any time. Enrollment in the CCAAs is likely to continue through September, or until the Island Marble butterfly is listed under the ESA, which could happen sooner.