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Seeking to stave off a potential listing of the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly under the Endangered Species Act, the Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance has formed a working group to "find more ways to mitigate the problem," according to LVEA executive director Jeanette Dahl.
The group is charged with exploring ways to help the butterfly, including possibly creating a conservation plan, "so that (listing) doesn't happen," Dahl said.
A coalition of conservation groups petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service back in April to list the butterfly as threatened or endangered.
Vegetation around the massive dune about 30 miles east of Fallon has undergone a rapid decline in recent years and environmentalists say the butterfly, so far only known to exist at the popular recreation area, is now at the threshold of extinction. A federal biologist has pointed toward increases in off-roading at Sand Mountain over the last several years as the reason for the plant life die-off.
The USFWS has not yet given the petition a preliminary review and, given the backlog of petitions in the chronically underfunded department, it could be several years before the service ultimately decides whether to list the insect.
The LVEA, a group originally formed to protect private water rights in the Lahontan Valley and Fernley, hopes its blue butterfly working group can help resolve the off-roader vs. butterfly dispute before a decision gets handed down.
The petition's preliminary review, under USFWS protocol, was scheduled to be finished early this summer but has not yet begun due to budgetary constraints, said USFWS Deputy Field Supervisor Jodie Brown. Depending on future funding levels, Brown said the petition may not even be reviewed within the next year.
The BLM has said it will continue its conservation efforts at Sand Mountain, which consists of signs that discourage off-road use in sensitive areas, until told otherwise by the USFWS. The bureau is also considering a proposal to designate Sand Mountain an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, which would force the bureau to create a management plan for the site.
Officials from the BLM and the USFWS are scheduled to explain the Sand Mountain predicament at the working group's first meeting, which will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Churchill County Administration Building at 155 N. Taylor St.
Dahl said anyone interested in Sand Mountain or the blue butterfly that calls it home is encouraged to attend the meeting.
"We want this to be inclusive. We want to get all the viewpoints," Dahl said.
Cory McConnell can be contacted at cmcconnell@lahontanvalleynews.com
The group is charged with exploring ways to help the butterfly, including possibly creating a conservation plan, "so that (listing) doesn't happen," Dahl said.
A coalition of conservation groups petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service back in April to list the butterfly as threatened or endangered.
Vegetation around the massive dune about 30 miles east of Fallon has undergone a rapid decline in recent years and environmentalists say the butterfly, so far only known to exist at the popular recreation area, is now at the threshold of extinction. A federal biologist has pointed toward increases in off-roading at Sand Mountain over the last several years as the reason for the plant life die-off.
The USFWS has not yet given the petition a preliminary review and, given the backlog of petitions in the chronically underfunded department, it could be several years before the service ultimately decides whether to list the insect.
The LVEA, a group originally formed to protect private water rights in the Lahontan Valley and Fernley, hopes its blue butterfly working group can help resolve the off-roader vs. butterfly dispute before a decision gets handed down.
The petition's preliminary review, under USFWS protocol, was scheduled to be finished early this summer but has not yet begun due to budgetary constraints, said USFWS Deputy Field Supervisor Jodie Brown. Depending on future funding levels, Brown said the petition may not even be reviewed within the next year.
The BLM has said it will continue its conservation efforts at Sand Mountain, which consists of signs that discourage off-road use in sensitive areas, until told otherwise by the USFWS. The bureau is also considering a proposal to designate Sand Mountain an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, which would force the bureau to create a management plan for the site.
Officials from the BLM and the USFWS are scheduled to explain the Sand Mountain predicament at the working group's first meeting, which will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Churchill County Administration Building at 155 N. Taylor St.
Dahl said anyone interested in Sand Mountain or the blue butterfly that calls it home is encouraged to attend the meeting.
"We want this to be inclusive. We want to get all the viewpoints," Dahl said.
Cory McConnell can be contacted at cmcconnell@lahontanvalleynews.com
