Mardon Meadows Campagin Plan 2025

Campaign: Mardon Meadows 2025

Established 2021 - current

Overview

The BLM and other organizations have been taking steps to protect meadow habitat for the imperiled Mardon Skipper butterfly since it was discovered to be rare and declining in the early 2000’s. In the last several years, local biologists have continued to document its decline throughout the Cascade-Siskiyou regions. Coordination by the Vesper Meadow Education Program has initiated further efforts to save this species, including; species monitoring and habitat research, creek and meadow restoration, educational programming, and other conservation measures. Read more about Mardon Meadows conservation work on the Vesper Meadow Community Blog.

Currently Funded Objectives

BLM RAC Title 2 Meadow habitat monitoring, conservation, and community involvement for the Klamath Mardon Skipper 2024 - 2026

(1) protect known Poma populations in the Cascade Siskiyou from direct threats to their habitat,

(2) repeat past monitoring efforts of Poma populations and their habitat conditions in the Cascade Siskiyou and

(3) increase local public awareness of this endangered species. Methods to achieve goals will work in tandem with Mardon skipper habitat restoration and conservation efforts with federal, Tribal, and NGO partners, for a multipronged conservation and monitoring strategy.

Future Objectives (funding opportunities)

Conservation

Network with state-level Mardon advocates and consider conservation goals, ESA listing?

Work with BLM/ ODFW?/ USFWS(?) to mitigate the effects of grazing Or

Work with advocacy groups to eliminate grazing in Mardon habitat

Restoration

Continued LTPBR restoration of waterways/ wet meadows

Building up a Mardon meadow habitat seed mix for grow out and enhancing plant resources in degraded meadows

Education and Community Engagement

Education for advocacy of wet meadows/ or ESA listing

Key Partners

Medford BLM Biologists

Mardon specialists: John Villella (consulting/ POMA surveys), Diane Keller (consulting),

Project Beaver: hydrologic restoration of Mardon meadow habitat

TUI Ecologists: Sean (Veg monitoring, Henry (Veg monitoring), Vanessa (Hydro monitoring)

GIS/ aerial imagery: Cameron Patterson

NGO Partnership: Friends CSNM and KS Wild (volunteer coordination and public outreach)

Target Audience

BLM Land managers - support strategies to monitor and protect Mardon meadows

General public - engage as volunteers and raise awareness of conservation issues

Messaging

The mardon skipper Polites mardon (Poma), is a rare butterfly in Oregon/Washington and an indicator of healthy meadow habitat. It is an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species and a Federal Species of Concern among several other conservation designations. Poma were likely more widespread and abundant prior to the past 150 years of development, water diversion, livestock grazing, fire suppression, and non-native vegetation invasion. (Black & Vaughan 2005) Several P. mardon klamathense meadow surveys in the Cascade Siskiyou region show population declines of 95% or more in the last fifteen years. (Mardon Skipper Site Monitoring reports, Ashland BLM Resource Area, Keller 2020, 2022).

Campaign tactics

Networking

Bringing together BLM land managers, local biologists, NGO’s and public volunteers to create a holistic network engaged in species conservation

Connecting BLM land managers and engage public volunteers to monitor threats (cows) and exclusion fences at known Mardon meadow sites, and also move forward with new projects like building exclosure fences

Species and habitat monitoring

Continue to document species populations and habitat conditions to better understand their decline AND to inform land managers on best practices for habitat conservation

Partner and Public Education

Document all project components (monitoring threats, monitoring species/ habitat) and disperse amongst project partners to strengthen the network capacity and shared understandings

Create diverse materials (written reports, blog articles, social media posts) to reach wide audiences and bringing awareness of species and habitat degradation, as well as engage the public as volunteers for conservation

2025 Strategy Timeline

Jan

- Project planning

Feb

- Partnership meetings 3-4 days (1 with biologists, 1 with BLM, 1 with NGO’s)

Mar

- Program coordination, outreach, volunteer recruitment 3-4 days (communications)

April

- Moon Prairie Fence construction 2-3 volunteer days

- Hydro surveys?

May - Mardon skipper surveys 2-3 days

June - Mardon skipper surveys 3-4 days

July - Veg habitat surveys

Aug

PC 125 monitoring

- Hydro surveys?

Sept

PC 125 monitoring

Oct

seedings/ tarps

PC 125 monitoring

Nov

Partnership meetings/ review and assessment

Considering next steps/ future funding