In an attempt to protect the Island Marble Butterfly, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife will continue accepting applications for the Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurance through early November.

“People in the community have demonstrated enthusiasm in applying,” Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Jason Wettstein wrote in a press release.

Jenny Shrum, who works with the National Park Service to save the species, told the audience during her talk at the San Juan Island Public Library in June that San Juan County was one of the butterfly’s last strongholds. Landowners can voluntarily enroll their properties for the conservation agreement and implement specific conservation measures supporting efforts to reestablish the distribution and abundance of the island marble butterfly on San Juan and Lopez islands.

The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife may be listing the butterfly on the endangered species list. One proactive method for preservation is working with landowners to educate them about butterfly conservation.

In an August press release, WDFW explained the conservation agreements: “The CCAA is a conservation tool under the ESA. Conservation measures outlined in the Island Marble Butterfly CCAA’s include creating patches of habitat, limiting disturbance to habitat patches, potentially protecting patches through fencing and potentially allowing deer hunting to limit deer consumption of the plants that butterflies depend upon.” To learn more about what a CCAA entails, visit https://www.fws.gov/wafwo/articles.cfm?id=149489723.