By Linda Morse

Include a live bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) as part of a presentation and watch people line up at the door. But would the same thing happen for a Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis)? Maybe. A dwarf wedge mussel (Alasmidonta heterodon) or a stem of an endangered plant like the Furbish lousewort (Pedicularis furbishae)? Only a few. People are naturally attracted to the "warm, fuzzy" endangered species, the charismatic critters that receive the most public attention. Yet, the truth is that the smaller, more innocuous plants and animals play a vital role in our environment.

In the northeast, as elsewhere, the media and public eagerly follow stories about banding eagles and peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus). Even Nature's collector-of-the-dead, the American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus), attracts a certain amount of attention due to its peculiar, grave-digging lifestyle. On the other hand, convincing the public why we need to protect the dwarf wedge mussel and Karner blue butterfly requires a bit of ingenuity. The key is finding ways to relate these less "glamorous" endangered species to their human neighbors.

The dwarf wedge mussel presented one opportunity. This unique mollusk was listed as endangered in 1990. A small population lives near Keene, New Hampshire, in a stretch of the Ashuelot River bordered by a golf course. The Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) New England Field Office realized that recovery efforts would not succeed without the support of town officials and citizens, and that the golf course could further threaten the mussel if turf chemicals degraded the Ashuelot's water quality. What to do? We decided to introduce the people of Keene to their endangered neighbors.

A "Meet the Mussel" field day was organized, and we invited key town officials, school teachers, the media, and interested citizens to attend. Twenty folks came along with us to the Ashuelot, where we gave them a good look at the mussels and taught them about the species' life history. We also informed them that although the mussels' presence indicates that Keene's water supply is still good, the dwindling numbers might mean that water quality is deteriorating. Protecting mussel habitat, we explained, could help to protect the city's water quality.

They got the point. City officials understood the significance of the mussels as indicators of Keene's water quality and worked with the FWS in modifying a proposed golf course expansion. One dynamic high school teacher took initiative as well. At the Meet the Mussel field day, he saw an opportunity for science and biology projects right in his back yard. Within a year, Keene's high school students began studying the dwarf wedge mussel situation, and soon were designing and selling "Save the Dwarf Wedge" T shirts. Thus began a productive, rewarding relationship between the FWS and the citizens of Keene. To this day, our recovery efforts for the dwarf wedge mussel in the Ashuelot River continue to be an effective and cooperative partnership.

Making the connection between an endangered mussel and a town's water supply was not too difficult. But relating the Karner blue butterfly to Concord, New Hampshire, residents required a less-direct route. Small, beautifully-colored but rarely seen, the Karner blue survives in a remnant of pine barren habitat near Concord's airport. It is the only population left in New England; populations remain in New York and several midwestern States. The larvae of this butterfly eat only blue lupine (Lupinus perennis), a plant that needs open areas and sandy soil to grow. The pine barren habitat suits both species perfectly, but the site's well-drained soils and proximity to the airport also make it an ideal area for development. Therein lies the problem.

In 1991, a developer and city officials began working on a proposal for a new light industrial park adjacent to the city airport. The pine barren habitat threatened by the proposed development historically supported Karner blue butterflies, but the greatest concern to us was the habitat's location, which was between the last patch of Karner blue butterflies and the more extensive, protected pine barren areas within the airport fence.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) had been monitoring the butterflies and lupine in the general area and had mustered some support from local citizens and businesses. But this new development proposal posed a definite threat to the survival and recovery of Concord's Karner blue population. What followed were several months of negotiations between the FWS, the Federal Aviation Administration, the developer, city planners, and TNC. A story of "jobs vs. butterflies" emerged in the media.

In response, the FWS New England Field Office and TNC began providing information that gave a complete portrayal of the issue. The message to the community and legislators was that both the butterfly and the pine barrens are unique to Concord, and are natural resources that contribute to the area's quality of life. As negotiations continued, the environmental agencies worked toward the goal of preserving part of the best remaining pine barren habitat for the Karner blue while allowing the industrial park project to proceed. The media began to take notice and to cover our efforts in a more positive light.

In 1992, an agreement was reached, setting aside about 28 acres (11.3 hectares) of pine barren habitat for the butterfly as part of the Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and establishing a management agreement with the city for 300 acres (120 ha) of habitat on airport grounds. The Karner blue was listed by the FWS as endangered that same year due to threats to the butterfly throughout its range. Since then, the FWS has supported TNC's outreach efforts (see sidebar), which include television, print media, and radio interviews and annual field trips to see the Karner blues. Last year alone, TNC led 8 field trips for local organizations, one of which had 60 participants. Most businesses bordering the pine barren habitat cooperate with the FWS and TNC in the continued effort to recover the Karner blue butterfly.

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Sidebar: As part of our outreach program, we made a presentation to a local school teacher who had been using the Karner blue annually as a topic for her students. She led her students in writing to the city council about protection of the pine barrens, and played a role in encouraging Concord to adopt the Karner blue as the City Butterfly. Later, the New Hampshire Legislature made the Karner blue the official State Butterfly.