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Recovery Strategy for the Mormon Metalmark (Apodemia Mormo), Southern Mountain Population in British Columbia

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Recovery Strategy for the Mormon Metalmark (Apodemia Mormo), Southern Mountain Population in British Columbia British Columbia Recovery Strategy Series Recovery Strategy for the Mormon Metalmark (Apodemia mormo), Southern Mountain Population in British Columbia Prepared by the Southern Interior Invertebrates Recovery Team February 2008 DRAFT About the British Columbia Recovery Strategy Series This series presents the recovery strategies that are prepared as advice to the Province of British Columbia on the general strategic approach required to recover species at risk. The Province prepares recovery strategies to meet our commitments to recover species at risk under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk in Canada, and the Canada – British Columbia Agreement on Species at Risk. What is recovery? Species at risk recovery is the process by which the decline of an endangered, threatened, or extirpated species is arrested or reversed, and threats are removed or reduced to improve the li kelihood of a species’ persistence in the wild. What is a recovery strategy? A recovery strategy represents the best available scientific knowledge on what is required to achieve recovery of a species or ecosystem. A recovery strategy outlines what is and what is not known about a species or ecosystem; it also identifies threats to the species or ecosystem, and what should be done to mitigate those threats. Recovery strategies set recovery goals and objectives, and recommend approaches to recover the species or ecosystem. Recovery strategies are usually prepared by a recovery team with members from agencies responsible for the management of the species or ecosystem, experts from other agencies, universities, conservation groups, aboriginal groups, and stakeholder groups as appropriate. What’s next? In most cases, one or more action plan(s) will be developed to define and guide implementation of the recovery strategy. Action plans include more detailed information about what needs to be done to meet the objectives of the recovery strategy. However, the recovery strategy provides valuable information on threats to the species and their recovery needs that may be used by individuals, communities, land users, and conservationists interested in species at risk recovery. For more information To learn more about species at risk recovery in British Columbia, please visit the Ministry of Environment Recovery Planning webpage at: <http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/recoveryplans/rcvry1.htm> Recovery Strategy for the Mormon Metalmark February 2008 Recovery Strategy for the Mormon Metalmark (Apodemia mormo), Southern Mountain Population in British Columbia Prepared by the Southern Interior Invertebrates Recovery Team February 2008 Recovery Strategy for the Mormon Metalmark February 2008 Recommended citation Southern Interior Invertebrates Recovery Team. 2008. Recovery Strategy for the Mormon Metalmark (Apodemia mormo), Southern Mountain Population in British Columbia. Prepared for the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC. 14 pp. Cover illustration/photograph Photos provided by Orville Dyer. Additional copies Additional copies can be downloaded from the B.C. Ministry of Environment Recovery Planning webpage at: <http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/recoveryplans/rcvry1.htm> Publication information Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Southern Interior Invertebrates Recovery Team. Recovery strategy for the Mormon metalmark (Apodemia mormo), Southern Mountain population in British Columbia [electronic resource] (British Columbia recovery strategy series) Available on the Internet. “February 2008” Includes bibliographical references: p. ISBN 978-0-7726-5945-3 1. Apodemia - British Columbia. 2. Rare butterflies – British Columbia. 3. Endangered species – British Columbia. 4. Wildlife recovery - British Columbia. I. British Columbia. Ministry of Environment. II. Title. QL561.R56S68 2008 595.78’9 C2008-960051-7 Content (excluding illustrations) may be used without permission, with appropriate credit to the source. i Recovery Strategy for the Mormon Metalmark February 2008 Disclaimer This recovery strategy has been prepared by the Southern Interior Invertebrates Recovery Team, as advice to the responsible jurisdictions and organizations that may be involved in recovering the species. The British Columbia Ministry of Environment has received this advice as part of fulfilling its commitments under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk in Canada, and the Canada - British Columbia Agreement on Species at Risk. This document identifies the recovery strategies that are deemed necessary, based on the best available scientific and traditional information, to recover Mormon Metalmark (Southern Mountain population) in British Columbia. Recovery actions to achieve the goals and objectives identified herein are subject to the priorities and budgetary constraints of participatory agencies and organizations. These goals, objectives, and recovery approaches may be modified in the future to accommodate new objectives and findings. The responsible jurisdictions and all members of the recovery team have had an opportunity to review this document. However, this document does not necessarily represent the official positions of the agencies or the personal views of all individuals on the recovery team. Success in the recovery of this species depends on the commitment and cooperation of many different constituencies that may be involved in implementing the directions set out in this strategy. The Ministry of Environment encourages all British Columbians to participate in the recovery of the Mormon Metalmark (Southern Mountain population). ii Recovery Strategy for the Mormon Metalmark February 2008 RECOVERY TEAM MEMBERS Southern Interior Invertebrates Recovery Team Orville Dyer British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Penticton, BC (Co-chair) Jennifer Heron British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Vancouver, BC (Co-chair) Sylvie Desjardins University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, BC Stephen Hureau Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, Delta, BC Brent Persello British Columbia Ministry of Transportation, Kamloops, BC Howie Richardson Okanagan College, Penticton, BC Dennis St. John Private entomologist, Okanagan Falls, BC Geoff Scudder University of British Columbia (Emeritus), Vancouver, BC Bryn White Okanagan College, Penticton, BC Technical Advisors Ron Hall Osoyoos (Nk'Mip) Indian Band, Osoyoos, BC Carrie Terbasket Lower Similkameen Indian Band, Keremeos, BC AUTHORS Southern Interior Invertebrates Recovery Team RESPONSIBLE JURISDICTIONS The British Columbia Ministry of Environment is responsible for producing a recovery strategy for the Mormon Metalmark (Southern Mountain population) under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk in Canada. The B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service participated in the preparation of this recovery strategy. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dennis St. John provided significant inventory training, guidance and good company. Sylvie Desjardins, UBC Okanagan, developed and initiated a population research program and provided important comments on the draft strategy. Howie Richardson, Okanagan College, is developing a population viability model. The initial draft of this strategy was written by Orville Dyer, Jennifer Heron and Bryn White. Additional revisions were the collaborative work of the Southern Interior Invertebrates Recovery Team. Toni Frisby of Terasen Gas kindly provided environmental assessment reports. Maps were provided by Dennis St. John, Chris Wood and Orville Dyer. Lucy Reiss (CWS), Blair Hammond (CWS), Wendy Dunford (CWS), Jeff Brown (MOE), Patricia Hayes (CWS) and Kari Nelson (MOE) provided helpful review of the document. Crystal Klym (Okanagan College) and Tricia Klein (MOE) assisted with revisions. Ros Penty edited the final document. The British Columbia Ministry of Environment (MOE), the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund and Okanagan College provided funding and administrative support. iii Recovery Strategy for the Mormon Metalmark February 2008 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Mormon Metalmark is a medium-sized butterfly, with a 25- to 35-mm wingspan. In Canada, the species has two separate populations: the Southern Mountain population in British Columbia and the Prairie population in Saskatchewan. This recovery strategy is for the Southern Mountain population only. The Southern Mountain population was designated by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as Endangered in 2003 and listed on Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act in January 2005. The Southern Mountain population of the Mormon Metalmark occurs in the lower Similkameen valley near the town of Keremeos in south-central British Columbia. It is extirpated from the south Okanagan valley, based on historical records from the early 1900s. Habitat for the species includes hillsides, slopes, and embankments with sandy or gravelly soils and moderate to high densities of rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosus) and snow buckwheat (Eriogonum niveum) plants. Metalmark larvae require snow buckwheat for feeding and may require the stems or leaf litter for hibernating. Adults require mature snow buckwheat for egg laying, and flowering snow buckwheat and rabbitbrush for nectaring. The Southern Mountain population is > 2000 individuals, confined to approximately 15 ha of unsecured habitat, and appears to be isolated from the closest known populations, in the United States. The main broad threats to the species are habitat loss and degradation, due to maintenance activities on transportation
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