Protection sought for rare butterflies at Nevada site

By SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Conservationists suing to block a geothermal power plant in Nevada where an endangered toad lives are seeking U.S. protection for a rare Nevada butterfly near another geothermal project the developer plans near the Oregon line. The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service last week to list the bleached sandhill skipper under the Endangered Species Act. It says the project the government approved last year 250 miles north of Reno could ultimately lead to the extinction of the 2-inch-long butterfly with golden-orange wings. The center and a Nevada tribe have been in a court battle with Ormat Nevada since December over its other plant planned 100 miles east of Reno.