President’s Message May 2025

May 14, 2025

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Hello, butterfly enthusiasts! It’s time to get outside, and the Washington Butterfly Association (WBA) has some fantastic opportunities for you to do just that with like-minded individuals! The season is underway with our first field trip led by David James, exploring the dunes and shrub-steppe of Juniper Dunes. Many more trips are planned for this season, so be sure to check the website for current listings and potential flash field trips! https://wabutterflyassoc.org/2025-wba-field-trips/

Getting outside in Seattle often requires a raincoat and offers limited butterfly sightings. To change that, WBA is initiating a habitat restoration project at Magnuson Park’s Butterfly Garden and Kingfisher Meadow in collaboration with the Magnuson Environmental Stewardship Alliance (MESA) and the Green Seattle Partnership. On April 22nd, in celebration of Earth Day’s 55th anniversary, WBA members, along with family and friends, began tackling the invasion of Himalayan Blackberry. The shining sun and mild temperature were a welcome sign, and our first pile of blackberry brush was nearly as tall as Carolyn Heberlein. A bonus as we finished up for the day, a white butterfly drifted by and an Echo Azure was sighted, good omens for our efforts! With assistance from our WBA plant expert, Julie O’Donald, we will gradually introduce native plants that are favored by pollinators as we continue to remove invasive species. While we may not be able to change the Seattle weather, we can create an inviting habitat for butterflies and the people who love them while providing an educational experience for residents of Western Washington. A big thank you goes out to our first work party participants: Richard Youel, Carolyn Heberlein, Rich Dufort, Melanie Weiss, Julie O’Donald, Vicki King, Mike and Vicki Elledge, Kathy O’Leary, and Julie Reilly. We also extend special thanks to our MESA friends Lynn Ferguson, Mary Bicknell, and Thomas Kelly! I am incredibly grateful for all the help we received at our first work party and hope many more of you will join us for future events.

The 2025 Study Weekend is just around the corner, scheduled for June 20-22. To get a preview of the butterfly species we may encounter and the areas we’ll explore, WBA will host David James for a Zoom broadcast on Monday, June 16th.

There is still time to encourage a young naturalist to apply for the 2025 Idie Ulsh Young Naturalist Scholarship! The deadline is May 15^th, for more information visit https://wabutterflyassoc.org/2025-idie-ulsh-young-naturalist-scholarship/.

Our meeting venue both Friday and Saturday evenings will be at the Yakima Arboretum. Please note that you are responsible for making your lodging arrangements. There are many lodging options in Yakima which you can review at http://www.visityakima.com/. Online Registration is coming soon and will be announced via a Noticeline email and the website blog.

For more information check out the blog post at https://wabutterflyassoc.org/wba-annual-butterfly-weekend-2025/

Wishing you good butterfly encounters, Liz Kuehn

Picture from the Magnuson Park Butterfly Garden Earth Day work party.