Experts say Wisconsin has the biggest Karner blue butterfly population in the country. Yet, the species could soon have less protected land across the state.

After eight year of surveys, Eau Claire County Forester, Jody Gindt, says Karner blues aren’t as widespread as once thought. Especially in the northwestern part of the state.

"We just have not found butterfly numbers,” Gindt said. “We have habitat there, it's just that there's no butterflies there for some odd reason."

That’s why the DNR says the so-called High Potential Range set aside for the species could be reduced from the original 9 million acres to just 1.9 million acres.

"Doesn't mean that we're not managing as much for them, we're just intensifying the management where they are."

"After all the research is done, we can say all right, this is where we know the habitat is most important for the species and we can focus our energy on these locations,” added Dr. Paula Kleintjes Neff, who is a biology professor at UW-Eau Claire.

She says these new findings prove the endangered species act is working.

"We always want to work towards recovering a species and protecting it,” Kleintjes Neff said. “The ultimate goal is to de-list a species, if that's ever possible. Just being able to have more knowledge on it and then concentrate our resources in that location is great news."

Gindt says Karner blue butterflies depend heavily on the wild lupine plant and usually stay within a mile of their home area.

If you’d like to learn more about Karner blue conservation plans, you can call the toll-free Karner blue butterfly hot line at 877-4KARNER.