Leaving the Cocoon

摘要

"I've been a butterfly technician at Mission Creek Corrections Center since 2013. We breed and raise Taylor's checkerspot butterflies, which are currently on the federal endangered species list, at a greenhouse near the facility. The program started in 2011 because one of the Taylor's checkerspot's few habitats is the artillery range at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, about an hour from here. We're introducing this population to a different habitat. "We need to work with the insects 365 days a year, I average five to six days a week, but I would go every day if they let me. I love it there. We call it our Zen place. It's refreshing after the noise and chaos of life inside.