SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KNX) – The Hermes copper butterfly, one of Southern California’s rarest butterflies, was declared as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act on Monday.
The butterfly species - which is from San Diego County, California, and Baja California, Mexico – will have a little over 35,000 acres of “ critical habitat” in San Diego County, according to a final rule by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The department declared the butterfly species and its habitat endangered because it’s “at risk primarily due to wildfire and, to a lesser extent, habitat fragmentation, isolation, land use change, and climate change and drought, and by those threats acting in concert.”
“Without Endangered Species Act protection, the Hermes copper butterfly would surely be pushed into extinction by Southern California’s rampant development, wildfires driven by climate change and invasive plants,” Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said.
“I’m relieved to finally see this beautiful little butterfly and its habitat protected.”
The rule will go into effect Jan. 20, 2022.
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