MINNEAPOLISâ(ENEWSPF)–October 23, 2014. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today protected two rare prairie butterflies under the Endangered Species Act. Protection for the Dakota skipper results from a landmark 2011 settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity to speed protection decisions for 757 imperiled plants and animals across the country. The Service added the Poweshiek skipperling to the listing rule because it is highly endangered and shares habitat with the skipper. Both of the inch-long, brown-and-orange butterflies were once found in eight states in the Midwest and Great Lakes region but declined due to loss of native prairie habitat.
