The Washington Cascades Butterfly Project – Monitoring Subalpine Butterflies as Climate Changes

The Cascades Butterfly Project is a long-term citizen science project that monitors subalpine butterfly populations in the Northern Cascade Mountains of Washington. The project was initiated in 2011 with the goals of... [ view full abstract ]

The Cascades Butterfly Project is a long-term citizen science project that monitors subalpine butterfly populations in the Northern Cascade Mountains of Washington. The project was initiated in 2011 with the goals of establishing a current baseline of butterfly populations; detecting trends in subalpine butterfly populations as climate changes; and most importantly, engaging the public in these efforts. Monitoring is conducted at 10 sites in North Cascades National Park Complex, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Mount Rainier National Park, and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. At each site, volunteers monitor butterflies along a 1 kilometer survey route using the Pollard Walk method.

Over the last four years, we have had more than 35 volunteers devote over 800 hours to documenting 35 butterfly species in these remote, high-elevation sites. Our greatest challenge is attracting volunteers who are willing to hike 2-4 miles (one- way) to our study sites, often with a gain of up to 3,000’ in elevation. Despite this, the number of returning volunteers has increased each year as has the number of volunteers skilled enough to conduct surveys independently.

In 2014, we were fortunate to join with Dr. Leslie Ries of the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center and the data platform (PollardBase) she developed for a consortium of regional (transect-based) monitoring programs. We believe our program is stable and increasing due to a core of dedicated local lepidopterists and we are now starting to reach out to other land management agencies to expand our network to low elevation sites.