Two butterfly species in Florida will be protected starting next month under the Endangered Species Act as part of a 2011 settlement concerning 757 wildlife species, officials said.
Bartram's scrub-hairstreak and Florida leafwing butterflies will be officially listed under the 1973 conservation measure as of Sept. 11, Reuters reported. Their new status as endangered species means that capturing or hurting the butterflies or their larvae will be illegal.
Additionally, an area that comprises 11,539 acres in seven discrete parcels in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, about 85 percent of which is owned by the state or federal government, has been designated a "critical habitat" for the endangered butterflies.
The habitat status won't mean that the land can't be developed at all, but construction projects will require a permit, the Miami Herald reported.
"Anything that's going to be done with these animals has to have our review," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Mark Salvato, as quoted by the Herald. "We're not to the finish line yet, but it would be pretty bad if someone knew this was going forward and rushed to mow down butterfly habitat."
Palm Beach County developer Ram has been outlining a plan to survey the butterfly population and conserve the endangered insects, the company said in a statement.
"Ram remains committed to species protection," the developer said.
The Bartram's butterfly is characterized by white-tipped gray wings, while the leafwing is bright orange, the Herald reported. They are exclusive to Florida rockland, a stretch of forest that has been reduced to just 2 percent of its original expanse.
Adding the two butterfly species to the endangered list comes as a result of a settlement of lawsuits in 2011 from conservation groups contending that hundreds of more species should be categorized as endangered. According to Jaclyn Lopez, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, 128 species included in the lawsuit have been granted endangered status following the settlement.
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
