Revival of the Fender's Blue Butterfly: A Conservation Story

Bug Banter with the Xerces Society

We all love a success story and what better tale to tell than the one about the Fender’s blue? Once thought extinct, this butterfly was rediscovered 35 years ago, since when it has made a comeback thanks to hard work by dedicated scientists, land owners, agency staff, and many others.

To tell us this story of hope, we are joined today by two people whose long-time collaboration has been central to this success. Cheryl Schultz is a Professor at Washington State University in Vancouver, where she studies the ecology of at-risk species, particularly butterflies of the PNW prairies. Mikki Collins works for the US Fish & Wildlife Service, and is currently the Willamette Valley Recovery Coordinator.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.