
Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly
(Euphydryas editha taylori)
Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly is historically known to occur in western Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. It is currently restricted to one site in BC, two in Oregon and less than ten in Washington. Occurring in grassland and grass/oak woodland sites where food plants and nectar sources are available, the Taylor’s checkerspot population has declined greatly with the loss of prairie habitat in the region and the spreading of invasive plants. In 2013, the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed Taylor’s checkerspot as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
CPOP and the Species-Specific Working Group
The Cascadia Prairie-Oak Partnership (CPOP) is an ecoregional group that brings together conservation focused professionals that represent state, federal and local government, military, conservation groups and other entities interested in prairie-oak conservation. CPOP was created to increase coordination between these groups in order to promote conservation action, leverage funding, and expand recovery efforts. The Taylor’s checkerspot working group first convened in 2010 and meets annually to discuss and prioritize recovery actions.
What is an Action Plan and what is its purpose?
Each CPOP working group maintains an Action Plan, a document that lists the ‘next best tasks’ that can be taken to improve the status of the species and ranks the highest priority actions. Each year at the annual meeting the list is updated to reflect completed work, new opportunities and changes in urgency. The Action Plan is meant to encourage dialogue and consensus among the group as well as to inform entities that work with conservation policies and funding, such as US Fish and Wildlife Service, as to what actions are priorities to support the recovery of Taylor’s checkerspot.
Conservation Status

Federal (U.S.)
Endangered

Federal (Canada)
Endangered

State of WA
Threatened

Province of BC
No Status
- 2021 Working Group Minutes
- 2021 Action Plan
- 2017 Working Group Minutes
- 2017-2018 Action Plan
- 2016-2017 Action Plan
- 2016 Working Group Minutes
- 2015-2016 Working Group Summary
- 2015-2016 Action Plan
- 2015 Working Group Minutes
- 2014-2015 Action Plan
- 2014 Working Group Minutes
- 2013-2014 Action Plan
- 2013 Working Group Minutes
- 2012 Action Plan
- 2011 Action Plan
- 2009 Action Plan
Click here for Taylor’s checkerspot documents in the Technical Library
Edith’s Checkerspot Workshop
Click here to access information (presentations, proceedings, and additional information) from the Jan. 2014 workshop.