On high peaks, 3 rare butterflies live at the edge of survival

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 25, 2026

The endangered White Mountain fritillary and threatened White Mountain arctic survive in different alpine habitats in New Hampshire’s Presidential Range, while the endangered Katahdin arctic is known only from Maine’s Katahdin. Their isolation helped create butterflies found almost nowhere else, but it also leaves them especially vulnerable to changing climate, damaged habitat and, in one notorious case, collectors. Stay on established trails rather than walking on alpine vegetation. Look. Wait. Photograph one if you are lucky enough to see a butterfly. But do not trample the habitat trying to find it.