10/25/2000 888

26,000 ACRES PROPOSED FOR BAY CHECKERSPOT BUTTERFLY

In keeping with a court order won by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service proposed on 10-16-00 to designate 26,182 acres of "critical habitat" for the endangered Bay checkerspot butterfly. Critical habitat includes all areas necessary for the survival and full recovery of the species. It is protected from federal projects for permits which would destroy or harm it.

The Bay Checkerspot Butterfly depends on host plants which grow primarily in grasslands on serpentine soils, a bluish-green soil type that is naturally highly mineralized, high in magnesium, and low in nitrogen and calcium. This specialized soil system is very valuable biologically because it supports a high percentage of California’s endemic species. Unfortunately, the majority of the checkerspot's serpentine soil habitat in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties has been destroyed. It is virtually certain to go extinct if its remaining habitat is not protected.

In a strongly-worded opinion, federal judge Samuel Conti quoted Congress to point out the connection between conserving biological diversity and human welfare: "From the most narrow possible point of view, it is in the best interests of mankind to minimize the losses of genetic variations....who knows, or can say, what potential cures for cancer or other scourges...may lie locked up in the structures of plants which may yet be undiscovered, much less analyzed?"

The Center’s Golden State Biodiversity Initiative has won 530,899 acres of critical habitat in California since 1997, including 1,000 miles of river. Another seven million acres have be proposed and are awaiting final approval.