Male Karner blue butterfly. Photo taken by Paul Labus, The Nature Conservancy, Indiana.

New Wisconsin Karner Blue Butterfly High Potential Range map. Developed by the Wisconsin DNR and UW-Madison Forest Landscape Ecology Lab in 2007.

On December 13, 2007, the Green Bay Ecological Services Field Office approved an amendment to the Wisconsin Statewide Karner Blue Butterfly Habitat Conservation Plan that amends the Karner blue butterfly High Potential Range in Wisconsin.  The amendment replaces the original Karner blue butterfly HPR map with a new adjusted HPR map for the state.  That change adjusts the HPR for the butterfly from about 9 million acres to 1.9 million acres.  The new HPR map is based on a Karner blue butterfly probability model developed by Theodore A. Sickley and David J. Mladenoff of the UW - Madison, Forest Ecology Laboratory.  Much of the information used in the model (e.g., lupine and Karner blue presence and absence data) was collected by the Wisconsin DNR and their 39 HCP partners over a 9-year period.  The development of the model and new HPR map reflects the adaptive management approach of the HCP, with partner monitoring data used to redefine the range of the butterfly.  The new HPR map better targets the butterfly’s range in Wisconsin and focuses conservation where the butterfly occurs.  The new HPR map also identifies Biological Recovery Zones, where recovery of the butterfly will be focused.  It will also reduce regulatory requirements in areas where Karner blues are less likely to occur.  The new HPR map and BRZs are exciting new tools being used by the HCP partners and the Service to move conservation and recovery of the butterfly significantly forward in Wisconsin.  For more information on the HCP you can go to the following website: http://dnr.wi.gov/forestry/karner/hcp.htm