Taylor's Checkerspot Reintroduction Progressing
The regional effort to reintroduce Taylor's checkerspot butterflies is progressing well on South Sound prairie sites. Fort the past 4 years, the butterflies have been reared at the Oregon Zoo and larvae released in South Sound. This year for the first time, adult butterflies were released. Mating and oviposition have been observed at the site, confirming reproductive behavior by the released animals. Concurrent with the captive butterfly rearing program, partners are working to enhance habitat quality in preparation for additional reintroductions across protected sites in the South Puget Sound.
The butterfly reintroduction program is led by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Habitat enhancements are being conducted by a cooperative group including WDFW, Washington Department of Natural Resources, and The Nature Conservancy. Funding for both projects provided by the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Army Compatible Use Buffer Program and US Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Program.
Read the article from The Olympian
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Northwest Lichenologists identify rare reindeer lichen at Mima Mounds. Read the article here
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Osprey Platform installed at Glacial Heritage Preserve.
Osprey are an important avian predator in many ecosystems, including western Washington’s prairies. These raptors tolerate a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water that provides an adequate food supply. Osprey nests are typically a large heap of sticks, driftwood and/or seaweed built in the forks of trees, rocky outcrops, or offshore islets. For many populations, lack of nesting sites may force sexually mature osprey to delay breeding or to readily adapt to the increasingly urbanized environment and nest on man-made structures such as utility poles.
At Thurston County’s Glacial Heritage Prairie Preserve, which borders the Black River, The Nature Conservancy and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) are helping the local osprey population by erecting four osprey poles and platforms. In recent years, osprey have attempted unsuccessfully to nest on utility poles on the neighboring Weyerhaeuser Nursery. The efforts of PSE and The Conservancy will provide these birds with much needed breeding sites, just like past efforts to help purple martin and western bluebirds through the addition of birdhouses to prairie preserves. Poles and platforms are built and were sited according to osprey habitat needs, maximizing the number of breeding pairs this 1,300 acre preserve can support.
Read the article from The Olympian.
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Go to the News Archive for a complete listing of previous stories.
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New Technical Documents available:
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TNC South Sound Program
Quarterly Highlights
January - March 2010
Read about the latest work that The Nature Conservancy's South Sound Program and its Partners are doing.
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Prairie-Oak Listserve.
To join the listserve, email your interest to Hannah Anderson at handerson@tnc.org.
Your name will be added to the growing membership and you will receive instructions on how to post and manage your subscription.
Do you have something to announce? Please contact Hannah Anderson
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