06/10/2026
We're pleased to announce that the has awarded $601,577 to the RCD of Greater San Diego County to manage a planning grant to protect four species of threatened and endangered butterflies in Southern California: Hermes copper, Harbison’s dun skipper, Quino checkerspot, and Laguna Mountain skipper.
In recent years, these four butterfly species have faced extreme population declines due to increasing threats from habitat loss and degradation driven by invasive nonnative plants, wildfire, and increasing climate variability. Without immediate conservation efforts, they are at risk of becoming extinct. This project lays the groundwork to restore populations.
The project brings together key partners to create multi-species conservation that can be achieved though future implementation grants. Partners include the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the San Diego County Department of Parks and Recreation, the San Diego Management and Monitoring Program, AECOM, and the Western Borderlands Ecology Group.
Together, we are working to develop a restoration approach to address threats and secure the necessary permits to implement habitat restoration and translocation.
To see photos of the butterflies and learn more about the efforts to protect them, visit the link in our bio 🦋
Photo: Hermes copper butterfly courtesy of Michael Ready
