June 2026, San Francisco: The Center for Food Safety yesterday filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for violating the Endangered Species Act (ESA) because the agency has unlawfully delayed in determining whether to protect the imperiled Iowa skipper butterfly from imminent risk of extinction under the ESA.
Yesterday’s complaint filing outlines the extent to which FWS has shirked their duty to fully assess whether the Iowa skipper is warranted protections under the ESA within the required one-year timeline, which is now overdue by more than two years. Congress imposed these statutorily-mandated deadlines to prevent species from slipping toward extinction while agencies delay action. The Iowa skipper now faces that very risk and urgently needs the FWS to act now.
“Imperiled pollinators like the Iowa skipper butterfly are essential to our environment and food system, but we’re trading their extinction for Big Ag profits. This butterfly is another canary in the coal mine of industrial agriculture. Our reliance on monoculture and unchecked pesticide use is driving species across the country closer to extinction. Fish and Wildlife Service’s delay is short-sighted and unlawful. They must act now before it’s too late.” said Suzannah Smith, counsel in the case.
In March 2023, the Center for Food Safety filed an ESA listing petition seeking protection for the Iowa skipper butterfly. The 100-page filing, supported by over 250 scientific sources, explained how industrial agriculture’s adverse impacts have driven the skipper to near extinction.
In October 2024, after being compelled by prior legal action brought by the Center for Food Safety, FWS announced that ESA protections may be warranted for the imperiled Iowa skipper butterfly, the first step in the listing process. FWS missed its subsequent deadline to complete that process as required under ESA, prompting yesterday’s filing.
Background
The bright, amber-colored Iowa skipper is being driven to the brink of extinction primarily due to continued destruction of its’ habitat to make room for corn and soy monocultures, and the accompanying use of toxic pesticides on these crops. Prairie-specialist butterflies like the Iowa skipper have struggled to survive in small patches of prairie habitat otherwise overtaken by industrial monocultures and the resulting pesticide use. The Iowa skipper is considered to be an indicator of a thriving prairie habitat. Its presence frequently signifies a grassland ecosystem is healthy and vibrant. As much as 99 percent of the U.S.’s 148 million acres of tallgrass prairie habitat has been destroyed. Industrial agriculture’s spraying of these toxic pesticides is contributing to the decline of the Iowa skipper due to these toxins’ direct harm to the butterfly and its surrounding habitat. The skipper’s survival is also threatened by climate change, invasive species, and the vulnerability of its small, isolated colonies.
Center for Food Safety’s work to protect the Iowa skipper is part of its Extinction Crisis program. For years, Center for Food Safety has been at the forefront of efforts to protect endangered species, especially endangered pollinators, from the growing threats posed by industrial agriculture. Theorganization fights to protect other species like monarch butterflies and native bees from toxic pesticides and destruction of habitat, continuously challenges pesticide approvals that threaten pollinators and other wildlife, and has advocated for and defended the Endangered Species Act as one of the nation’s most important safeguards against extinction. Its work has repeatedly exposed a troubling pattern: federal regulators continue to approve and allow widespread pesticide use without adequately accounting for impacts on pollinators and endangered species.
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