Endangered butterfly gaining momentum in North Dakota
AMY R. SISK, The Bismarck Tribune
July 11, 2021
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BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) It’s Christmas in July for the Dakota skipper, a yellow-beige butterfly that crawls up bunchgrass this time of year and flutters about the coneflowers blooming across the rolling plains.
While it slurps up nectar, surveyors working with energy companies and conservation groups scour the hills carefully to document the skipper, which is considered threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
One of those surveyors is Luke Toso, who in early July can often be found among “a bunch of guys with hats and cameras stumbling around the prairie looking for butterflies,” as he described it one recent morning before heading out into the field.
Habitat efforts look to benefit more than endangered species in North Dakota
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Conservationists aflutter about projects to protect Dakota skipper
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By JAMES MacPHERSON
Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) â Fifteen years after 3-year-old Reachelle Smith disappeared, Minotâs police chief announced Tuesday that the case on the girl known as âPeanutâ is closed and that police believe the only suspect in her disappearance killed her.
Chief John Klug said police think âwithout a doubtâ that the girl was slain by Leigh Cowen, who killed himself about a week after Reachelle was last seen. Her body was never recovered.
At a news conference Tuesday, Klug and Capt. Jason Sundbakken revealed previously undisclosed evidence, including that a âsubstantial amountâ of Reachelle s blood was found in a cooler at Cowen s home and that neighbors and family reported he had been acting strangely after the girlâs disappearance.