Butterfly paradise
lost?
By Emily Fancher
STAFF WRITER
Two
decades later, the butterflies are just as threatened as ever -- a fact not
lost on officials who are in the middle of crafting an update, or amendment,
aimed at strengthening the habitat conservation plan.
"If
you have limited money, fighting nature is not easy," said Mike Wilson, a
trustee who oversees the conservation plan for the mountain, along with other
city and county representatives.
There's
a growing consensus that the shortage of funds, conflicting science, and
evolution of the mountain from grasslands to coastal scrub are taking a toll on
the butterflies' habitat.
Everyone
seems to agree on the problems, but no one seems to have a solution.
Home
to several endangered butterfly species,
Successful
at saving the majority of the mountain's 3,600 acres as open space, the plan
nevertheless has failed to significantly preserve the grasslands where the
butterflies' host plants thrive.
"What
we're trying to do may be impossible," County Manager John Maltbie, a trustee of the mountain. "After the HCP
expires, it could be you'll see a natural evolution of the mountain and an
extinction of the species."
The
HCP will expire in about a decade, but in the meantime, all agree it's underfunded, with about $120,000 a year from homeowners and
developers in the area. That money goes to weed out invasive plants, replant
native species, monitor the butterfly population and
other efforts.
More
money could come from grants, a special assessment on the ballot or from an
endowment from a developer. Brisbane City Manager Clay Holstine
said he expects Brookfield Homes to approach the City Council in the next two
months with a plan to build fewer than 168 homes on the mountain, as well as
provide some money for an endowment -- perhaps a few million dollars.
"I
think the next five years will be critical," said Holstine.
"We've go to put more resources into preserving the habitat."
One
idea to solve the constant money crisis is to transfer the mountain to the
federal government, perhaps the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, but some
say budget constraints may make that idea unrealistic.
Meanwhile,
the environmental review of a major amendment to the HCP will begin next week.
The amendment itself must be finished by next July. As part of the revision,
the endangered Callippe Silverspot
and the threatened Bay Checkerspot butterflies would
be added to the plan, which already includes the Mission Blue and San Bruno
Elfin. The revision would also incorporate a few endangered plant species and
look at butterfly-counting techniques, grazing and controlled burns, and
weed-control plans.
As
part of the process, a public meeting on the environmental review of the
amendment will be held July 29 from
Staff
writer Emily Fancher can be reached at (650) 348-4340
or efancher@sanmateocountytimes.com
.