The story of conservation of the Bay checkerspot butterfly over three decades illustrates many of the challenges posed by a novel 21st century environment. The butterfly is among the most well-studied natural populations in the world, and complex relationships between weather, topoclimate, phenology, and population dynamics have been untangled. The butterfly in its nutrient-poor serpentine grassland habitat has become a "poster child" for impacts of atmospheric nitrogen deposition on biodiversity, and the necessity of cattle grazing for maintaining habitat in the face of annual grass invasions. The newly adopted (2013) Santa Clara Valley HCP/NCCP promises to conserve and manage the remaining habitat. The broader implications of nitrogen deposition on California biodiversity will also be discussed.
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