Conservationists release rare butterfly species into Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve
A team of conservationists is working to restore the Poweshiek Skipper butterfly population and preserve the tallgrass prairie ecosystem.
They recently released the Poweshiek Skipperling in the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve near Vita, Man.
A released Powersheik Skipperling.
Laura Burns, Conservation Programs Manager at the Winnipeg Zoo, says a variety of factors were considered in choosing the location to release the poweshiek.
“The selection of this site was led by the University of Winnipeg. Dr. Katherine Dearborn conducted a variety of habitat surveys and spoke with many experts, including ourselves, about what we believe are important site characteristics for Poweshiek.”
They created a long list of important characteristics, including the presence of grasses that the butterflies like to eat, the shrub cover when the Poweshiek was last seen there, the distance to the nearest inhabited site, and the types of flowers present at the site.
Once they had the list, they evaluated each site on all the desired features and then weighed how important each feature was.
Burns says they narrowed down three locations to visit in person and decided on the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Reserve.
“Based on our preliminary work, we liked the aptitude assessment, but we also liked that it was somewhat manageable.”
Melissa Grantham of the Nature Conservancy of Canada adds that the entire project took about two years, explaining that they did not want to rush anything.
“It was a scary undertaking to put them somewhere where we weren’t sure they would be next year. It was the very first time Poweshiek had been reintroduced anywhere, so we wanted to make sure we did our due diligence and did it right and brought as much expertise as we could to help make the decision.”
Burns says the Poweshiek’s release the first year was nerve-wracking, but it turned out the choice of location was a good one.
“The fact that we saw adults here this year suggests that they have probably succeeded in breeding and recruiting the next generation. I cried a little when I heard that adults are here this year. I was so happy, relieved and excited,” she says. “It feels pretty incredible to be part of a project where you can see concrete results. I have been part of the project since 2017 and seeing how it has grown has been incredible.”
Grantham explains why restoring Poweshiek populations is important.
“They’re part of the ecosystem, they’re part of the landscape, they belong here. Whether we see it or not, they play an important role, so I think it’s really important to preserve every part of this ecosystem and work to restore it.”
Here in southeastern Manitoba, we’re used to seeing grasslands everywhere, but Grantham says they’re the most threatened landscape in the world.
“When we think about the tallgrass prairie, the habitat that this species depends on, the grasslands are the most endangered landscape in the world, even more so than the rainforests.”
This makes preserving the Poweshiek population all the more important.
“They are part of this tall grass prairie landscape and it is really important that we preserve them.”
Norm Gregoire of Shared Legacy says having this is incredibly valuable to our community.
“I think it just shows how unique our natural area is when we talk about tallgrass prairies. For us as community members, this is our backyard, so sometimes we may not realize how lucky we are.”
He says that the Poweshiek Skipper is a very rare species and that it is therefore really great to be able to be part of the release of this species.
“I think it’s important that people can build a connection to the land. When these species are released back into the wild, it creates a connection between us as neighbors – neighbors in the sense of me and you, and neighbors in the sense of me and the Poweshiek Skipperling.”
He says that when one sees a Poweshiek Skipper, it reminds them of the achievements of all who have come together to prevent the species from becoming extinct or to save it.
“It’s not something you can take for granted, whether it’s the first time or whether some of these people have been doing this for years.”
With files from Carly Koop
