Work saving endangered butterfly earns Assiniboine Park Conservancy conservation award

The Assiniboine Park Conservancy’s groundbreaking work to save a critically endangered butterfly has earned it a joint conservation award with two other North American zoos.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums recognized Assiniboine Park Zoo, Minnesota Zoo and John Ball Zoo with the 2025 North American Conservation Award for their collaboration, perseverance, innovation and cross-border co-operation to revive the dwindling population of the Poweshiek skipperling butterfly.

Through the Poweshiek Skipperling International Partnership, the three organizations worked together to save the species from extinction by successfully establishing captive breeding programs in the co-ordinated cross-border recovery efforts.

Conservation scientists developed advanced rearing and reintroduction techniques and conducted cutting-edge field research and genome sequencing to ensure the species isn’t lost forever.

At the Assiniboine Park Zoo, scientists led a breeding and release program focused on increasing the wild population by rearing butterflies through their most vulnerable life stages before releasing them into the wild.

Working in tandem, Nature Conservancy of Canada and Assiniboine Park are working to restore wild populations by protecting the specialized grassland habitat the species needs to survive and thrive.

For the eighth consecutive year, this summer 175 adult butterflies were released into the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve, the last place the species is found in the country.

The 2025 tally now brings the zoo’s cumulative release total to 719 butterflies.

During the same time period, more than 700 eggs were collected to be held in a climate-controlled freezer over winter in preparation for next summer’s release.

“This award is a meaningful recognition of years of dedication and hard-won successes, achieved despite significant challenges. It’s also a clear reminder that continued investment on both sides of the border is essential to prevent the extinction of this precious species,” said Stephen Petersen, director of conservation and research at Assiniboine Park Conservancy.

One of the world’s most endangered butterflies, the Poweshiek skipperling’s population plummeted in the past two decades, owing to a combination of factors, including pesticide use, habitat loss and fragmentation, extreme weather and climate change.

The declining numbers of the previously abundant species, native to the tallgrass prairies of Canada and central United States, was first documented in the 1990s.

av.kitching@reepress.mb.ca