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Post subject: Group works to balance butterfly, off-roaders
 Posted: Jul 25, 2005 - 09:42 AM
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Joined: Jul 25, 2001
Posts: 2745
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http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/artic ... /107230017
Group works to balance butterfly, off-roaders
July 23, 2005
By BURKE WASSON
LVN Staff Writer
When people think of Sand Mountain, dirt-bike riders and the giant sand dune itself often come to mind.
But when the Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance envisions the natural attraction, its members see a great location with a potentially fatal problem - the possible extinction of the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly.
The Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly is a small butterfly with a wingspan of less than one inch. Males are pale blue, and females are a grayish brown color.
Some people are concerned that the use of Sand Mountain as a weekend getaway for off-highway vehicle riders will deplete the amount of Kearney Buckwheat, which is found at Sand Mountain and is also the habitat of the Blue Butterfly.
But while the concern for the butterfly's survival is a priority, so is the desire to continue to have Sand Mountain be a viable spot for OHV enthusiasts.
In order to bridge the gap and keep all sides happy, the LVEA coordinated the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly Working Group last year.
"It's a group that was formed to develop a conservation plan that would conserve the Kearney Buckwheat and the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly and at the same time let multiple use continue on Sand Mountain," said LVEA executive director Jeannette Dahl.
Representatives from groups including the Bureau of Land Management, Churchill County government, the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe and the California Off Road Vehicle Association have all taken part in the effort to preserve the butterflies' habitat while also letting OHV use to continue at Sand Mountain.
Dahl said the BLM accepted the group's designated route map at its last meeting.
"The purpose of those designated routes is to provide sand trails for the public to ride on and at the same time preserve the Kearney Buckwheat area," Dahl said. "So a map was developed through the working group, and BLM has said that map looks like it'll be an acceptable starting point."
According to Dahl, the working group has completed five strategies in the development of its conservation plan. These include: the designated routes, educating the public, developing a maintenance program for signage and the proposed trails, increasing law enforcement of the proposed trails and closing Sand Mountain's shrub habitat to livestock.
"We work on those five strategies and flesh them out," Dahl said. "Now we're getting the narrative put together that describes what we're doing with these strategies."
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is currently considering a petition to list the butterfly as a endangered species.
Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe members have also said that because Sand Mountain is a sacred area with great cultural significance to the tribe, the area should be closed for two months during the spring each year. One month would be designated for spiritual practices, and one month for habitat regeneration.
The BLM estimates that more than 40,000 people visit Sand Mountain each year, with as many as 5,000 to 7,000 people on Memorial Day weekend.
Anyone wanting more information on the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly Working Group can call (775) 423-0525 or send an e-mail to lvea@sci-nevada.com.
Burke Wasson can be contacted at bwasson@lahontanvalleynews.com
www.DuneGuide.com |
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Post subject:
Posted: Jul 26, 2005 - 10:49 AM
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Joined: Apr 15, 2002
Posts: 620
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| I say we plant some butterfly bushes at the mountain. it would be like giving the butterflys there own club med. we have a couple of these bushes in our yard and right now everyday about two o'clock in the afternoon you walk buy these things and you think you are getting attcked buy butterflies they are so many just a thought might look a little nicer along the fence that runs across the front of the dunes. |
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Post subject:
Posted: Jul 26, 2005 - 11:09 AM
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Joined: Feb 03, 2003
Posts: 752
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The closures proposed by the Tribe are not part of the LVEA proposals.
The route map that has tentative approval is a variation of the existing route plan and was revised with a new proposal from Dean from BLM. His map was revised after a field visit with those involved.
I proposed a plan to plant Kearney Buckwheat but Fish and Wildlife said it was not a conservation plan, but is something that the plan can push for further study to grow and plant if it is found that it is a viable activity.
Richard |
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Post subject:
Posted: Jul 26, 2005 - 05:54 PM
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Joined: Oct 05, 2003
Posts: 155
Location: reno, nv
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I thought about planting some butterfly bushes out there several times... they attrack so many.... but will they grow without a source of water...???
Kimberly Peek
Secretary of FoSM |
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Post subject:
Posted: Jul 26, 2005 - 06:53 PM
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Joined: Feb 03, 2003
Posts: 752
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The problem is that BLM is studying how to grow buckwheat but not too agressively.
Richard |
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Post subject:
Posted: Jul 26, 2005 - 07:09 PM
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Joined: Nov 13, 2002
Posts: 31
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One would wonder how difficult it is to cultivate buckwheat. It's a plant, you throw some seeds in some dirt, and add water. It's a desert plant, so not too much water.
It would seem the only thing that needs to be figured out is the reproduction type, if strictly seeds, or cuttings, and how much to water. |
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