Hesperia leonardus montana

Overview

The Pawnee montane skipper occurs only in the South Platte River drainage of Colorado. At the time of listing, the skipper habitat was threatened with the construction of Two Forks Dam and Reservoir and associated development. In 1990, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not approve the construction of the dam, removing the immediate principal threat to the skipper's habitat. In the long term, plans to develop a reservoir in the South Platte drainage that might negatively affect skipper habitat may resurface. More significantly, due to the limited habitat and range of the Pawnee montane skipper, unexpected environmental, random (stochastic) events could also have a major deleterious effect on the population. For the Pawnee montane skipper, periodic fire may be necessary to maintain the open nature of the habitat.

Description

The Pawnee montane skipper (Hesperia leonardus montana) is a member of the Hesperiidae family. The upper side of the wing is brownish red with distinct yellowish spots near the outer margins. Underside is brown with cream spots.

Life History

Pawnee montane skippers inhabit dry, open Ponderosa pine woodlands with sparse understory at 6,000 to 7,500 feet. Blue gramma grass (Bouteloua gracilis), the larval food plant and prairie gay feather, the primary nectar plant, are two necessary components of the ground cover.

Distribution

The skipper occurs only on the Pikes Peak Granite Formation in the South Platte River drainage system in Colorado involving portions of Jefferson, Douglas, Teller, and Park counties. The total known habitat within the range is estimated to be 37.9 square miles (98.2 km²).

Conservation Status

The last surveys (1997 and 1998) on record estimated 100,000 individuals in the existing population. Recent forest fires may have impacted current population sizes.

Conservation Needs

According to the recovery plan, recovery efforts will concentrate on the creation of Memoranda of Understanding between land management agencies to provide for maintenance and enhancement of habitat; monitoring skipper presence; monitoring skipper habitat quality and trends, determination of management criteria for habitat maintenance; and education of private landowners and seeking opportunities for conservation agreements to allow enhancement of skipper habitat on private lands.

Working with landowners

The recovery plan includes as one of its goals conservation agreements to allow enhancement of skipper habitat on private lands.

Education

Education sheets available at zoological facilities (e.g. zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens with butterflies, butterfly houses, natural history museums) or events at which BFCI partners participate are a valuable way to disseminate information about imperiled butterflies.

When schools and other youth organizations study biodiversity and species extinctions they typically use examples of charismatic megafauna (e.g. bald eagles) or exotic creatures from the tropics. However, vulnerable species found within the state or ecoregion in which students live provide an excellent opportunity to develop curricular materials with a direct link to the students' home region. In addition to classroom studies, students may be able to visit sites to see the butterflies, as well as talk to the scientists and land managers involved in the species' conservation.

Educational activities that school students and community members could do include:

• studying butterfly (insect) life stages;
• researching the special habitat needs of the Pawnee montane skipper;
• corresponding or meeting with the biologists managing current Pawnee montane skipper sites;
• visiting Pawnee montane skipper sites during adult flight season;
• visiting captive breeding programs;
• assisting scientists with on-site habitat management;
• propagating and growing host plants for planting at butterfly sites or use in captive breeding programs; and
• writing letters to decision makers to ensure that the Pawnee montane skipper receives adequate resources and protection.

Research

There are needs for monitoring skipper presence, monitoring skipper habitat quality and trends, determination of management criteria for habitat maintenance.

Captive Rearing

Information was not available at the time of this printing.

Recovery Plan

USFWS, 1998. Pawnee montane skipper butterfly recovery plan (1.9MB pdf).

The objective of the plan is to remove the skipper from the list of threatened species by ensuring the protection of the species' habitat for the foreseeable future.

The Pawnee montane skipper will be considered for delisting when it is demonstrated that:

• There is a high probability of long-term persistence of the species and its preferred habitat. Because a twenty-fold fluctuation in butterfly numbers is commonly encountered, the focus for recovery must be on habitat protection, not population numbers, at any given time.
• Skipper habitat on public land is protected and maintained within the defined habitat of the South Platte River. Fragmentation of habitat must be avoided and skippers must be distributed throughout the range. Populations in both the South and North Forks must be protected to buffer against a single event that might eliminate the butterfly from one of these areas.

Recovery Priorities

• Create Memoranda of Understanding among land management agencies to provide for maintenance of habitat.
• Monitor trends of skipper presence and habitat quality and extent.
• Determine if disease, parasitism, and/or predation are a threat.
• Determine effects of management regimes for habitat maintenance and enhancement. This include the effects of forest management practices, recreation management, including roads, trails and off-road vehicle use on skipper habitat.
• Perform noxious weed control by hand.
• Encourage private landowners to voluntarily manage habitat through education and conservation easements.
• Educate the general public about the Pawnee montane skipper and its habitat.

More Info

• USFWS Contact: Bettina Proctor, Partnerships Coordinator, P.O. Box 25486, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. Phone (303) 236-8155, extension 259.

References

• USFWS, 1998. Pawnee montane skipper butterfly recovery plan.
• New Yorker 1986: A Reporter at Large (The Skipper and the Dam)
• USFWS Pawnee montane skipper page
• USGS Butterflies of Colorado: Pawnee montane skipper

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Classification

Federal Threatened Species (Federal Register 52:36176; September 25, 1987)

State Status

No state designation beyond the federal classification.

Range

CO

Critical Habitat

None designated

Acknowledgement

This profile was prepared by the Xerces Society for the Butterfly Conservation Initiative.