An environmental group has purchased land in Newaygo County to improve the habitat for an endangered butterfly.
The Michigan Nature Association has purchased 40 acres of land to improve a habitat near an existing population of the Karner Blue butterfly species.
The endangered species is one of the rarest species in Michigan, victim of significant habitat loss over the last 100 years.
The butterfly host plant, the wild lupine, is typically found in open fields.
Andrew Bacon, Conservation Director for the Michigan Nature Association said the wild lupine and the Karner Blue have a direct relationship, both affected by habitat loss.
“Encroaching trees and shrubs shade out the wild lupine and other prairie plants,” Bacon said. “As a result there is no food or habitat left for the Karner Blue butterfly.”
Bacon said one of the theories for population loss is that mild winters and less snowpack leave butterfly larvae is exposed to winter climate.
“With the climate change concern, there's uncertainty as to how the dwindling snowpack over the course of the winter is going to affect the butterfly,” Bacon said. “Any of our climate change projections are still somewhat uncertain as we are trying to understand them better but his has been identified as a causing concern.”
Bacon said the future of the species is uncertain in the age of climate change. He said there are no solid estimates for the butterfly population in individual states.
The association’s goal for the project is to create a home for the species in an effort to maintain a healthy population.
