IAE is currently engaged in a project to increase populations of Kincaid’s lupine to benefit both the lupine and Fender’s blue butterfly. We are collaborating with several agencies and landowners at 11 sites in the western Willamette Valley, from Henry Hagg Lake in the north to Wren and Philomath in the south. Over three years we will help restore prairie habitat and introduce native diversity as well as plant seed and plugs of Kincaid’s lupine.
One of the project sites near Wren is Echo Hills Farm, where owners Karen Fleck-Harding and Tom Harding have been restoring their oak and savannah habitats over many years with a lot of hard toil and help from grants and collaborators. Although there is a small remnant population of Kincaid’s lupine on the property, as well as a scattering of small Kincaid’s lupine introduction plots in several meadows, a lot of the prairie habitat is dominated by invasive grasses such as tall fescue and tall oatgrass. The meadows were also surrounded by tall trees, such as Douglas-fir, creating a barrier for Fender’s blue butterfly movement.
As part of the project planning process, partners met on site to develop a plan for improving prairie habitat at Echo Hills Farm. Jared Jebousek of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program suggested that while we are improving the habitat, we could also open up a connection between one of the Echo Hills Farm meadows and the adjacent power line corridor, thus providing a link to other Fender’s populations in the Wren area.
Good idea, I thought – maybe butterflies would use this pathway someday in the future after we had restored the prairie habitat.
Little did I know, we wouldn’t have to wait very long.
