The endangered Taylor's checkerspot butterfly is thriving in an unusual habitat: Joint Base Lewis-McChord's biggest artillery impact range in south Puget Sound, Wash. Once inhabitants of more than 70 sites in the area, the butterflies are now only found in 14 sites.

The colorful creatures find nectar, mate and lay eggs on a stretch of prairie right next to troops who are drilling military maneuvers and practicing live-fire training, The Associated Press reported.

The Army has been striving to increase the butterfly population. Since the checkered butterfly was listed as a federal endangered species last fall, it "has the potential to cause major restrictions on training," Jeffrey Foster, an ecologist at the military installation, told the AP. The Army is taking measures to protect the rare creature through preserved habitats on and off the military installation.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service determined the checkerspot's endangered status in October, calling "military training under present conditions a threat to the short-term and long-term conservation of the Taylor's checkerspot." 

An Army program has been working around the country to curb urban development around bases as well as to preserve and restore habitats for endangered species. Two rare species the Army is helping to conserve are the red-cockaded woodpecker and the golden-cheeked warbler.

More than 200,000 acres of lands have been preserved as part of the program, according to the AP. Working with the state, the Center for Natural Lands Management and others, the Army and its partners have dedicated $35 million to protecting several thousand acres of land in and around the base for the butterfly and other rare species.

"We're in a much better position now than [we] were five years ago," Mary Linders, a conservation biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the AP.

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