VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Help Count Pawnee Montane Skippers

The Pawnee Montane Skipper (Hesperia leonardus Montana) is an endangered and federally protected subspecies of butterfly that is found only in the South Platte River drainage area in Colorado. Ten years ago, several agencies, including the US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife and Denver Water started planning forest restoration in the South Platte Valley. The restoration work included timber harvest, thinning of trees, prescribed burns, eliminating roads and making trails. In order to monitor how this might be affecting the endangered skipper, yearly surveys were conducted during the butterfly’s flight season in late August and early September. In 2002, this area was further affected by the Hayman Fire, and that became an important part of the surveys. These surveys include counting the skippers seen, counting flower stems of their preferred nectar source (Prairie Gayflower), noting presence of their larval food plant (Blue Gramma grass) and counting live and dead trees. Weather conditions such as temperature, cloud cover and wind are also noted, since these can all affect whether the skippers are active or not.



Three years ago, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo adopted the Pawnee Montane Skipper project as one of its Quarters for Conservation participants. The project received money from the zoo to support graduate students working in the field, but another important part of the Zoo’s involvement was recruiting volunteers to help with the surveys. While the surveys are conducted by the Forest Service, Fish & Wildlife, and Dr. Boyce Drummond, volunteers provide the additional help needed to have several survey teams each day. The Skipper is no longer a Quarters project, but is still being supported by the zoo.

“Participating in the surveys is a lot of hard work, but very rewarding,” says Heidi Genter, current champion of the Skipper project at the Zoo. “It feels great to be involved in field work right here in Colorado.”

If you are interested in helping with this year’s surveys, they are scheduled for the week of Aug. 30-Sept 3. Participants should be prepared for a day in the field, spent hiking over rough and steep terrain. If you’re interested, please contact Heidi at hgenter@cmzoo.org for more information.