San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan

In October, we had two guest speakers, Lindell and Christian Marsh talk about their work on habitat conservation. It was a wonderful discussion that Lindell believe greatly in. Every so often, Lindell Marsh would tear only making his work worthwhile. I never knew anything about the San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan until the two guest speakers came. With their stories and hard efforts, I decided to look into the plan more.

The purpose of the conservation plan in the San Bruno Mountain is to “to provide for the indefinite perpetuation of the Mission Blue and Callippe Silverspot butterflies as well as to conserve and enhance the value of the Mountain as a whole as a remnant ecosystem or biological refuge which contains other rare or unusual species” (TRA Environmental Sciences). The plan not only wants to help save the habitat for the butterflies but help keep the natural grasslands I the mountains preserved for the wildlife. Though many of the native grass and plants are no longer there, the introduced plants still serve a purpose for many of the living organisms.

Development is causing the greatest harm in the area. The important areas for the butterflies are Twin Peaks, Radio Ridge, and Reservoir Hill. The three peaks are significant to the butterflies for survival. The butterflies rely on different food source that are on different terrains of the mountain. Mission Blue larva relies on Lupine and Callippe larva relies on violet. Lupine grows in rocky areas where grass usually is not found. Mating for both species is also very specific and depends on the terrain of the mountain.

If population keeps encroaching their habitat, these two wonderful butterflies will cease to exist. The conservation plan is a well-put concept that should be put in place. Their biggest obstacles are the people who do not care about loosing species of butterflies. All they want is to develop more malls, homes, and parking structure to make a profit. I believe that if we have more people like Lindell and Christian Marsh who are dedicated to saving San Bruno Mountain then there may be a chance for the butterflies and other rare species found in the area to survive.

References

TRA Environmental Sciences. http://www.traenviro.com/sanbruno/hcp/ vol_1_biological_prgm.pdf.