US Fish and Wildlife Declares SD Butterfly a Threatened Species

SAN DIEGO - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today declared one of Southern California's rarest butterflies -- the Hermes copper butterfly -

- as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

The agency also designated 35,000 acres in San Diego County as protected critical habitat.

``The Hermes copper butterfly is one of several threatened or endangered butterflies in our region,'' said Paul Souza, regional director for the agency's California-Great Basin Region.

``We are also issuing a special rule that will provide flexibility for our partners engaged in important wildfire prevent...