Activists file petition to protect endangered butterfly in Riverside County

RIVERSIDE (CNS) - The Center for Biological Diversity and Endangered Habitats League filed a joint petition on Monday to protect Quino checkerspot butterflies -- now found only in southwestern Riverside County and southern San Diego County in the United States -- under the California Endangered Species Act. The petition, filed with the California Fish and Game Commission, notes that the Quino checkerspot was once one of the most common butterflies in Southern California. But with the rapid spread of urban sprawl, the butterfly has lost more than 75% of its historic habitat and in 1997 was listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. ``It's alarming that a butterfly that once filled the skies of Southern California is now only found in pockets of its former range,'' said