<p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For those of you who received the email pertaining to the
IUCN/SSC Butterfly Specialist Group status assessment survey, you may have
encountered the following message after accessing the survey directly from the
email: <i style="">“We're sorry. You have already
taken this survey”.</i><span style=""> </span>This seems to be
an issue with the software used to create and send out the original email, and
occurs when the original email is forwarded. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">However, the link in
the email still works. In order to complete the survey, copy and paste the URL
into your web browser:</b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><br></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e39t3abkgiro65gp/start">http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e39t3abkgiro65gp/start</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We apologize for the inconvenience and hope that it will not
prevent you from filling out the survey. <b style="">Thank
you for your participation in the survey and for forwarding this link and
information on to others interested in participating in the survey</b>.<span style=""> </span>Please use the email below to pass this
information and link to others interested in participating in the survey.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank You,</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation</p><p class="MsoNormal">*****************************************************************************************<br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">Greetings partners in butterfly
conservation,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">In fall of 2010, The International
Union for Conservation of Nature (<b style="">IUCN</b>)
Species Survival Commission (<b style="">SSC</b>)
re-formed its<b style=""> Butterfly Specialist Group</b>
and named Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Xerces Society for
Invertebrate Conservation, as the group’s chair. In this capacity, Scott will
work to bring together scientists and conservationists to facilitate butterfly
conservation action and influence policy worldwide.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">In anticipation of this task, we have
prepared a short on-line survey with the aim of identifying current butterfly
conservation projects, priorities, and needs, and the individuals and
organizations engaged in these efforts. The results of this survey will be used
to create an action plan to prioritize individual species status assessments,
surveys, and direct conservation action. <br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We'd appreciate your help in better understanding what's
being done and who is engaged in butterfly conservation across the world. <b style="">Please complete this brief survey—it should
take less than 10 minutes to complete</b>. Any information you can give will be
of great benefit to the work of the Butterfly Specialist Group. <span style="color: black;">We hope to get this survey out as broadly as possible. </span>To
help us do this, once you have filled out the survey, <b style="">please forward this information and the link to the survey</b>:<span style=""> </span><b style=""><span style=""> </span><a href="http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e39t3abkgiro65gp/start">http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e39t3abkgiro65gp/start</a></b>
to others whose work or experience may be applicable to this specialist group. <b style="">Copy and paste the above URL into your web
browser to access the survey</b>. We are especially interested in gathering
information about butterfly conservation efforts in areas outside North America
and Western Europe, as the initial aim of this Group is to prioritize work in
countries and regions generally underserved by butterfly conservation
organizations.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The survey is in English. If this is not your first
language, we hope that you will still be able to read and complete the survey
and that language will not be a barrier to your participation. Unfortunately,
the Specialist Group doesn’t currently have the capacity to present and analyze
the survey in other languages. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you for your help in making the Butterfly Specialist
Group a success. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sincerely,</p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">Scott Hoffman Black</p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">Executive Director –
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation</p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">Chair – IUCN SSC
Butterfly Specialist Group</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>