JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — An
undeveloped stretch of native prairie in south
Puget Sound offers one of the few habitats inthe world where a two-inch colorful checkered
butterfly thrives. It also happens to be the main
artillery impact range for Joint Base LewisMcChord.
The Army's Stryker combat brigade and othertroops regularly practice military maneuvers andlive-fire training on acres of scenic, open
grassland where a small population of Taylor's
checkerspot butterfly feed on nectar of nativeblooms, mate and lay eggs.
The butterfly's listing as a federal endangered

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species last fall "has the potential to cause major restrictions on training," said Jeffrey
Foster, an ecologist at the military installation.
That has the Army working to boost the numbers of butterflies, once found at more than
70 sites in Puget Sound, Oregon and British Columbia but are now reduced to 14 sites.
The effort mirrors others by the Army at installations around the country.
From Maryland to Louisiana to Colorado, the Army has been conserving buffer areas
around bases to limit urban development, while also preserving and restoring habitat forrare species such as the red-cockaded woodpecker and the golden-cheeked warbler.

In this photo taken May 7, 2014, a Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly rests on a Puget balsamroot flower
while a bee flies nearby on a prairie area used for live-fire exercises at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
The Army has been working to boost the numbers of the federally listed endangered butterflies.
TED S. WARREN — AP PhotoSo far, the program has preserved over 200,000 acres of land.

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At JBLM, 44 miles south of Seattle, the program is helping not only the Taylor'scheckerspot butterfly but also the streaked horned lark and Mazama pocket gopher.
Last October, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service concluded the Taylor's checkerspot wasin danger of becoming extinct and designated nearly 2,000 acres in Clallam County,Puget Sound and Oregon's Willamette Valley as critical habitat for the creature.
The agency said it considered "military training under present conditions a threat to theshort-term and long-term conservation of the Taylor's checkerspot." The eight-wheeled,armored Stryker vehicle and soldier foot traffic can crush larvae and damage plants thebutterflies rely on.

In this photo taken May 7, 2014, two Taylor’s checkerspot butterfies are shown on a prairie area used
for live-fire exercises at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. The Army has been working to boost thenumbers of the federally listed endangered butterflies. TED S. WARREN — AP Photo

The Army has been working with the state, the Center for Natural Lands Management
and others to preserve and restore habitat, both on and off the military installation, sothat the butterflies could be re-introduced.

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The military and its partners have committed about $35 million and protected about
several thousand acres of land in and around JBLM for multiple species. It will likely
take years to increase the butterfly's numbers, but those working on the effort are
already seeing some success.
Taylor's checkerspot butterflies are establishing at two of three sites at JBLM and on
two other sites near Olympia where they have been re-introduced.
"We're in a much better position now than were five years ago," said Mary Linders, aconservation biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

In this photo taken May 7, 2014, Jeffrey Foster, left, an ecologist at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.,and Audrey Lamb, right, a Conservation Assistant with the Center for Natural Lands Management,survey an undeveloped prairie area used for military training at the base, which also happens to be oneof the few areas in the country where the federally listed endangered Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly
lives. The Army has been working to boost the numbers of the butterflies. TED S. WARREN — AP Photo

The Army is working with the Center for Natural Lands Management, a non-profit groupthat manages lands that are purchased, works with partners who raise the butterflies in

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captivity, propagates native prairie plants and prepares sites where the checkerspots
can be re-introduced.
Hannah Anderson, rare species program manager at CNLM, said the military's program
helped "protect lands off the base, restore them to high quality and bring the animals
there so we could protect these animals but also the military's ability to train."
On a recent day, Linders and others walked a section of prairie at the artillery impact
area to count adult butterflies and monitor the timing of the flight season.
It's prime season for the butterflies to mate, and their orange and white checkered wings
flutter as they move from one plant to another. They fly in groups and dip into the centerof Puget balsamroot, bright sunflower-like plants that are in full bloom.
Nearby, pock-marked bunkers bear evidence of artillery fire. White stakes mark areas
where vehicles must stay on the road and where soldiers and others are prohibited from
digging or camping. Linders points out a cluster of eggs at the base of a red harsh
paintbrush.
"You can see lots and lots of them as we're walking through here," she said. "It's thelargest population left in the checkerspot's range."

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