Powering Up Poweshieks

Butterflies fly freely across borders – so saving butterflies means making friends across borders, too. Minnesota Zoo butterfly conservation scientists traveled to Winnipeg, Manitoba for the annual meeting of the Poweshiek Skipperling International Partnership, March 25 – 28, 2025. There they collaborated with other zoos and government agencies on plans to save this critically endangered prairie butterfly.

Colleagues at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg have a parallel program to the Minnesota Zoo’s, with the aim to rear and release Poweshieks into their native grasslands in Canada.

Kirstyn Eckhardt, Conservation Programs Manager at the Assiniboine Park Zoo (left) welcomes Cale Nordmeyer, Minnesota Zoo Butterfly Conservation Biologist, to Manitoba.

Seeing partners in person is a wonderful way to coordinate our actions and be as effective as possible for Poweshieks. Learn more about our Canadian colleagues and everyone involved in the Poweshiek Skipperling International Partnership.

Plus, big butterfly news: After a winter spent as caterpillars in a hibernation-like state called diapause, more than 1,000 adult Poweshiek skipperlings raised at the Minnesota Zoo will be released in Michigan in summer 2025. That work across state borders is made possible by our partnership with the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids.

Champions for Butterfly Conservation 

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has named the 2024 Recovery Champions for the Midwest Region:  Minnesota Zoo conservationists Cale Nordmeyer and Dr. Erik Runquist. This national award recognizes their contributions to the recovery of the endangered Poweshiek skipperling and threatened Dakota skipper. Significant milestones in prairie butterfly conservation have been reached thanks to Cale and Erik’s successful rearing and release programs here at the Minnesota Zoo.

Dr. Erik Runquist, Butterfly Conservation Biologist at the Minnesota Zoo (left), with John Ball Zoo colleagues, and Cale Nordmeyer, Butterfly Conservation Biologist at the Minnesota Zoo (bottom right).

Their year-round efforts have helped the Poweshiek skipperling recover from being functionally extinct in the United States just a few short years ago. USFWS noted that Cale and Erik’s efforts resulted in an “astounding” population increase of Poweshiek skipperlings from about 250 individuals in 2013 to approximately 1,500 ready to release in 2025.

The USFWS also praised Cale and Erik as “exemplary collaborators” with both U.S. and international partners. This includes serving as advisors to the John Ball Zoo in Michigan and the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Manitoba as they established butterfly rearing programs.

Congratulations, Cale and Erik, and our thanks to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for sharing this vital work for wildlife.