Oregon Zoo Unites with Nation’s Zoos to Protect Endangered Butterflies

The Butterfly Conservation Initiative (BFCI) — a partnership of the Oregon Zoo, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) and 34 zoos and aquariums from around the country — aims to aid the recovery of imperiled North American butterflies.

Formed in response to the alarming decline of butterflies in the Northwest and throughout North America, the group’s goals are to raise public awareness about habitat protection and to lead restoration efforts.

"Butterflies and other insects are indicators of the overall health of an ecosystem; their decline is telling us we need to act now,” said deputy conservation manager David Shepherdson. “For over a decade, the Oregon Zoo has reared endangered Oregon silverspot butterflies. We’re pleased that more and more conservation organizations are taking leadership roles in butterfly stewardship."

Because butterflies and other insects pollinate the vast majority of all food plants on earth, "The loss of butterflies and other pollinators would be a biological disaster,” said Shepherdson. “Butterflies are threatened by habitat loss, the widespread use of pesticides and the introduction of invasive species that out compete host plants. This initiative helps focus our efforts to save species found in our own backyards."

The founding members of the BFCI include Oregon Zoo and Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo as well as the Abilene Zoo, Akron Zoo, Albuquerque Biological Park, Audubon Nature Institute, Baltimore Zoo, Binder Park Zoo, Bronx Zoo, Calgary Zoo, Central Florida Zoological Park, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Cincinnati Zoo, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Dallas World Aquarium, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Detroit Zoological Park, Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, Henry Vilas Zoo, John Ball Park Zoo, The Living Desert, Louisville Zoo, Miami Metrozoo, National Aquarium in Baltimore, Oklahoma City Zoo, Potawatomi Zoo, Racine Zoological Gardens, Reid Park Zoo Teen Volunteers, Roger Williams Park Zoo, San Antonio Zoo, Santa Barbara Zoo, Seneca Park Zoo Society, Toledo Zoo, and Toronto Zoo.