Butterfly Conservation

View the Northeast Ohio Butterfly Projects Report
View BFCI Baltimore Meeting Notes (January 2003)

Although butterflies are an important and easily recognizable part of our natural ecosystems, butterfly conservation has not been a high profile issue. Due primarily to habitat loss and alteration, twenty-four species of butterflies and moths are currently listed as threatened or endangered in the United States. The Butterfly Conservation Initiative (BFCI) was initiated to create an active national partnership to address butterfly conservation in the United States. The BFCI was founded in 2001 by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), in cooperation with the Xerces Society and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This program was designed to focus the efforts of zoos and aquariums and to foster partnerships between zoological institutions, conservation organizations, and governmental agencies to address butterfly conservation and recovery.        

As a supporting member of the BFCI, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is currently involved in the development of a number of butterfly education, research, and conservation projects, and is working in partnership with AZA and other Ohio zoos to actively support butterfly conservation efforts in Ohio. In addition to the butterfly gardens and tropical butterfly exhibit at the Zoo this summer, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo was represented at the Karner Blue Butterfly Recovery Implementation Workshop in Toledo, Ohio and is also developing the Northeast Ohio Butterfly Projects Database.

What?

The Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) has recently established the Butterfly Conservation Initiative (BFCI), which is dedicated to the conservation of threatened and endangered species of butterlies and moths in the United States. As a first step in supporting this initiative we will be developing the online Northeast Ohio Butterfly Projects Database. We would like to know what butterfly projects in Northeast Ohio have been conducted in the past ten years, are currently underway, or are planned for the near future.

When?

Although submissions may be entered on an ongoing basis, we would like to compile our first summary report for contributors by the first of the year. Therefore, we ask that you please submit your forms no later than December 15, 2002.

Why?

By entering information about your butterfly conservation, research, and/or education projects into our online form, you will be helping us to create a resource for identifying potential collaboration opportunities among local butterfly experts once completed. The online database will be an updated source of information for scientists, students, and the general public and will be easily accessible from the Zoo's website. The success of this Northeast Ohio version will inform future decisions about expanding to all areas of Ohio.

Anything Else?

If there are any additional people in your organization who would be knowledgeable in this subject area, please have them complete a form and refer them to us for future contact. Please contact us with any comments, suggestions, and/or questions.

How?

To submit your information in the database, see links below.

To complete a Butterfly Survey to be entered into the database, click here. PLEASE SUBMIT ONE FORM PER PROJECT AT YOUR INSTITUTION

To learn more about butterflies, butterfly conservation, and what you can do to help, check out the North American Butterfly Association and the Ohio Lepidopterist Society.

If you have any questions concerning the form or Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's efforts to support the AZA Butterfly Conservation Initiative, please contact: