Blue Fender Butterfly
Are you aware of any Oregon State University studies on the Willamette Valley Blue Fender Butterfly? I belong to a local community that is expanding and building very quickly and some of our citizens are concerned about the wild plants and animals that will be affected. We have heard that the Blue Fender is unique to the Oregon's Willamette Valley and may be an endangered species. The Sierra Club has a program lead by a Student Coalition and may be doing a study on Mary's Peak or elsewhere in the Valley. Continued encroachment on the wildlife and wetlands is of great concern to my small community.
Benton County Oregon entomology prairie restoration butterflies conservation management endangered species ecology
3 Responses
Hello, and thank you for your concern for local wildlife.
Thom Kaye, who is courtesy faculty in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, does quite a bit of work on Fender's Blue Conservation in his role as the Director of the Institute for Applied Ecology.
Thom's contact information can be found at: https://bpp.oregonstate.edu/people/kaye-thomas
His work on the Fender's Blue Butterfly can be found at: https://appliedeco.org/monitoring-fenders-blue-butterflies/
Thank you so much for this service. What a great way to share with the community.
My question is: With Fender's Blue Butterflies and Lupine in our area, my community has concerns about the rapid growth and it's affects on the animal and plant habitats. I know that this rapid habitat loss that our area is experiencing is also happening around the Corvallis area as humans continue to move into wild(er) areas We understand that the Fender's Blue is an endangered species which has been spotted in our local areas.
What we would like to do is show our local governing body that the Fender's Blue does exist in our area and therefore, proceeding with concern and caution is a best practice.
Do you know of a documented study that shows the Fender's Blue Butterfly and lupine habitat here in our NW area of Philomath? If one does not currently exist, would it be possible for your department (students) to coordinate such a study? Thank you for your attention. Not able to attach a file, map is PDF. https://www.co.benton.or.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/records_and_elections/page/2101/mapp...