具有历史意义的交易为帝王蝶保留了数百万条授粉通道

具有历史意义的交易为帝王蝶保留了数百万条授粉通道

A huge swath of land that wasn't being fully utilized has been set aside for monarch butterfly habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the University of Illinois at Chicago have signed an agreement to create habitat for the butterflies on potentially millions of acres along rights-of-way and associated land. The agreement unites more than 45 companies in the energy and transportation fields and private landowners in the voluntary conservation agreement, according to the USFWS.

一大片没有被充分利用的土地被用来作为帝王蝶的栖息地。美国鱼类和野生动物管理局和伊利诺斯州大学芝加哥分校签署了一项协议，将沿着道路权和相关土地为这些蝴蝶创造潜在的数百万英亩的栖息地。根据USFWS，该协议联合了超过45家能源和交通领域的公司和自愿保护协议中的私人土地所有者。

Monarchs are typically found in open areas during breeding season. They depend on milkweed to survive. (Photo: Paul Roedding/Shutterstock)

Although the side of the road might not seem an ideal environment for many species, it's perfect for butterflies and other pollinators. These miles-long buffers along highways and utilities "can support native vegetation, provide refuge for wildlife and connect fragmented habitat," says the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, an international nonprofit organization. "They can support native vegetation, provide refuge for wildlife and connect fragmented habitat."

尽管路边对许多物种来说似乎不是理想的环境，但对蝴蝶和其他传粉者来说却是完美的环境。这些沿着公路和公用设施的几英里长的缓冲区“可以支持原生植被，为野生动物提供避难所，并连接破碎的栖息地，”国际非营利组织Xerces无脊椎动物保护协会说。“它们可以支持原生植被，为野生动物提供庇护，并连接破碎的栖息地。”

As part of the agreement, landowners will create and maintain parts of their land, carrying out conservation measures to reduce or remove threats to monarch butterflies. Although the agreement specifically focuses on monarchs, the measures are expected to benefit several other species, particularly pollinating insects.

作为协议的一部分，土地所有者将创建和维护他们的部分土地，实施保护措施，以减少或消除对帝王蝶的威胁。尽管该协议专门针对帝王蝶，但预计这些措施将惠及其他几个物种，尤其是授粉昆虫。

The agreement is important because populations of both the eastern and western monarchs have dropped by more than 80% in the past 20 years. Possible reasons for the monarch's population decline include habitat loss at breeding and overwintering sites, pesticides, disease, logging, and climate change. The USFWS is scheduled to decide in December 2020 if the monarch butterfly will be classified as federally endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

这项协议很重要，因为在过去的20年里，东西方帝王蝶的数量都减少了80%以上。黑脉金斑蝶数量下降的可能原因包括繁殖和越冬地点栖息地丧失、杀虫剂、疾病、伐木和气候变化。美国鱼类和野生动物管理局计划在2020年12月决定是否根据《濒危物种法案》将帝王蝶列为联邦濒危物种。

Why endangered status matters

濒危状态为何重要

Highway rights-of-way can support native vegetation, offering lots of habitat for pollinators. (Photo: SariMe/Shutterstock)

When working on the agreement, some businesses and land managers were concerned what would happen if the monarch gained endangered status, reports Mongabay. They were worried that if they voluntarily created monarch habitat, then new regulations concerning the butterfly's new status would subject them to more rules.

据Mongabay报道，在制定协议的过程中，一些企业和土地管理者担心如果帝王蝶的地位受到威胁会发生什么。他们担心，如果他们自愿建立帝王蝶的栖息地，那么有关这种蝴蝶新地位的新规定将使他们受到更多的约束。

"Some companies wanted to wait to see how the listing would play out," Iris Caldwell, a program manager at the Energy Resources Center at UIC, told Mongabay. "But if you are following what's happening with the butterflies you know we really can't wait. We need to be creating habitat on a variety of different landscapes, as much as we can."

UIC能源中心的项目经理Iris Caldwell告诉Mongabay:“一些公司想要等待最后的结果。但如果你一直在关注蝴蝶的动向，你就会知道我们真的等不及了。我们需要在各种不同的景观上创造栖息地，尽我们所能。”

Caldwell is part of Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group, a group of 200 organizations from private industry, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and education in the U.S. and Canada. The forum shares ideas and best management practices for creating and supporting rights-of-way for pollinators.

考德威尔是人居环境工作组的成员之一，该工作组由来自美国和加拿大的私营企业、政府机构、非营利组织和教育机构的200个组织组成。该论坛分享了为授粉者创造和支持通行权的想法和最佳管理实践。

The new rights-of-way agreement is also covered by the USFWs Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) and Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA). These are voluntary but formal agreements between the businesses and landowners and the USFWS that conserve at-risk species. With the CCAA, the landowners are assured that if the monarch is later listed as endangered, they won't be required to take more protective measures on their land.

新的通行权协议也包括USFWs候选保护协议和候选保护协议。 这些都是自愿的，但又是正式的企业和土地所有者与保护风险物种的USFWS之间的协议。 有了候选保护协议，土地所有者就会得到保证，如果帝王蝶后来被列为濒危物种，他们就不会被要求在他们的土地上采取更多的保护措施。

"So they can just kind of go about business as usual. And if they happen to accidentally kill monarchs in that process, they won't be subjected to the under the endangered species laws," Tara Cornelisse, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, told Mongabay. "So, in turn, what they're supposed to do is give a percentage of those enrolled lands over to conservation."

“所以他们可以像往常一样工作。如果在这个过程中意外杀死了帝王蝶，他们将不受濒危物种法的限制，”生物多样性中心的资深科学家塔拉·科奈利斯告诉Mongabay。“所以，反过来，他们应该做的是把登记的土地的一部分重点保护。”

Officials estimate that as many as 2.3 million acres of roadsides and utility lands may be involved in the agreement, becoming habitat for monarchs and other pollinators.

官员们估计，多达230万英亩的道路和公用事业用地可能参与了这项协议，成为帝王蝶和其他授粉昆虫的栖息地。

"This is a net benefit agreement," Timothy Male, executive director of the nonprofit Environmental Policy Innovation Center, told E&E News. "The butterfly is clearly better off with than without this agreement."

非营利组织环境政策创新中心执行主任蒂莫西·马累在接受E&E新闻采访时表示:“这是一份净收益协议。有了这个协议，蝴蝶的日子显然好过没有这个协议的时候。”