NATIVE WILDLIFE AND PLANTS THRIVING IN LAX’S COASTAL DUNES NATURE PRESERVE

 (Los Angeles, California – July 9, 2012)  Many nature lovers in the Los Angeles area are aware of the endangered El Segundo Blue (ESB) Butterfly now-flourishing in a 200-acre preserve at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) thanks to successful efforts by the City of Los Angeles and its thoughtful citizens to save it from extinction.

What many are unaware of is that the butterfly and its habitat and many other native wildlife and plant species were saved from further residential development and extinction when Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) bought the 307 acres of coastal dunes on the western boundary of its property.

The preserve, now home to more than 1,000 species of plants and wildlife, supports 43 acres of virtually undisturbed protected original native dune habitat, and is the largest remaining coastal dune area in Southern California.  In 1976, when counts showed fewer than 500 ESB butterflies, they became the first insect listed as a Federal Endangered Species. 

In 1986, in an effort to reverse the damage to the coastal dunes habitat and the decline in the butterfly population, the City of Los Angeles began its Dunes Restoration Project at LAX, voluntarily setting aside a 200-acre parcel of the land, located on the western portion of the airport as a natural wildlife preserve.

 To encourage the butterfly’s comeback, the restoration project focused on planting the Coastal Buckwheat plant, the butterfly’s sole food source.  Today, the ESB butterfly population is thriving, with its population numbering more than 120,000.

In addition to the El Segundo Blue Butterfly, the dunes’ wildlife inhabitants include the San Diego Horned Lizard and the silvery legless lizard classified by the State of California as Species of Concern.  Under LAWA’s stewardship, these two species are prospering in the dunes.   

Certain plants, such as  the El Segundo Dunes California Spineflower, also depend on the unique environment of the dunes for their existence.  The spineflower was discovered in 1987, when only 299 of the plants existed.  Due to LAWA’s ongoing efforts to remove competing non-native vegetation, the spineflower population has soared.  Many other varieties of plants also now blossom on the preserved dunes.