I fucking hate NYT, here’s a better article about this:

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/invertebrates/Sacramento_Mountains_checkerspot_butterfly/index.html

… and another:

https://www.nmwild.org/2025/03/20/the-butterfly-effect/

She believes the species is hanging on in the wild, possibly on the adjacent lands of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, where the surveys weren’t permitted.

The tribe did not respond to requests for comment.

There is an entire backstory there, seemingly skipped over, that seems vital to this article