Wisconsin Calls Volunteers to Save Endangered Butterfly

Wisconsin hosts the world's largest population of an endangered butterfly species, and now regular people can join the effort to save it from extinction.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is recruiting volunteers for its Karner Blue Butterfly Volunteer Monitoring Program starting in July. Anyone can sign up to help track these tiny blue pollinators across 21 Wisconsin counties where they still survive.

The Karner blue butterfly once flourished from Minnesota to Maine and into Canada. Today, habitat loss and climate change have reduced their range dramatically. Wisconsin now hosts the largest remaining population, with only small groups surviving in Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire and New York.

These delicate butterflies depend entirely on wild lupine plants for survival. Their pale green caterpillars eat nothing else, which makes protecting the right habitat critical. Wisconsin's open barrens, savannas and prairies still provide the wild lupine these butterflies need to thrive.

Volunteers will learn to identify Karner blues and collect data showing how the species moves across the landscape over time. Since 2018, volunteer observations have helped scientists track population trends and distribution patterns. This information feeds directly into the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recovery plan, which aims to remove Karners from the endangered species list once populations reach healthy levels.

"Collecting this information improves our database and gives us a better statewide picture of how this species is faring," said Chelsea Weinzinger, the DNR's Karner blue butterfly recovery coordinator.

Getting involved takes just a few simple steps. Volunteers can complete online training materials at their own pace and submit observations through the iNaturalist app. Optional in person field training sessions happen June 11 at Beaver Creek Reserve in Fall Creek and June 13 at Sandhill Wildlife Area in Babcock.

The Ripple Effect: Volunteer butterfly watchers are doing more than collecting data. They're contributing to a recovery effort that could bring an endangered species back from the brink. Their observations help scientists understand how to restore and connect habitats, which benefits countless other pollinators and native plants. When Karner blues thrive, entire ecosystems benefit.

Every observation matters in the race to save these butterflies, and Wisconsin residents have a front row seat to making it happen.