For Immediate Release: June 22, 2009
Contacts:
Josh Pollock, Conservation Director, Center for Native Ecosystems, 303-546-0214 x 2, josh@nativeecosystems.org
Tom Grant, Conservation Committee Chair, Colorado Native Plant Society, 720-530-5290
Endangered Colorado Wildflower Moves Closer to Habitat Protection
Clay-loving wild buckwheat, threatened by dirt bikes, subdivisions, and superhighways, will get new assessment
Denver-One of Colorado’s most endangered wildflowers moved a step closer to enhanced habitat protections today when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would reevaluate the species’ current critical habitat designation.
The announcement came as result of a petition submitted in 2006 by Center for Native Ecosystems, the Colorado Native Plant Society, and the Uncompahgre Valley Association.
“The clay-loving wild buckwheat’s only remaining habitat must be protected if we are going to recover this beautiful Colorado native,’ said Josh Pollock, Conservation Director at Center for Native Ecosystems. “Too much has already been lost, and the remainder is threatened from all sides.”
The clay-loving wild buckwheat grows only on the Adobe Hills east of Montrose and Delta in western Colorado. As the region has experienced surging population growth (Montrose grew by more than 73% between 1990 and 2004), more of the wildflower’s habitat on former agricultural land and surrounding open space has been converted to suburban housing developments. On nearby Bureau of Land Management land such as the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, an increase in dirt bike and ATV riding has led to more cross-country, off-route riding and even trespass onto adjacent private property, which tramples fragile clay-loving wild buckwheat populations.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated critical habitat for the Colorado native in 1984, but only in a single location of less than 120 acres. Since then, further populations of clay-loving wild buckwheat have been discovered, but others have been lost to development. As early as 1988, the Fish and Wildlife Service recognized the value of protecting additional habitat for the species, but has taken no action to expand their designation.
“It is good to see the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service taking the necessary steps to fully evaluate the threats to this rare plant,” said Tom Grant, Chairperson of the Conservation Committee of the Colorado Native Plant Society. “We hope they choose to expand protection of the critical habitat. The buckwheat’s survival will be directly linked to it as the Montrose area continues to expand.”
“It would take so little to secure the habitat this native wildflower needs,” said Pollock. “It lives on less than 600 acres altogether. For such an imperiled plant, it only makes sense to update its protections.”
The Fish and Wildlife Service failed to respond to the coalition’s petition for over a year. Center for Native Ecosystems filed a legal complaint in 2008, and today’s announcement fulfills the requirements of a court settlement in which the Service agreed to issue an initial finding on the merits of the 2006 petition.
In 2007, a coalition of state agencies and non-profit organizations, including Center for Native Ecosystems and Colorado Native Plant Society, partnered with local landowners to protect a key population of the clay-loving wild buckwheat east of Montrose. As a result, the Wacker Ranch Natural Area was created as a preserve for the buckwheat and other native plants of the Adobe Hills. While an important refuge for the buckwheat, this protected area is only a small portion of the remaining habitat for the species and not enough to ensure its survival.
With today’s announcement, the Fish and Wildlife Service opened a public comment period, wherein the agency will accept information regarding the status of the clay-loving wild buckwheat or particular locations where it is found. Comments may be submitted online at http://www.regulations.gov. Comments are due by July 22, 2009.
Further information about the clay-loving wild buckwheat and high resolution images of the flower are available at http://nativeecosystems.org/species/plants/clay-loving-wild-buckwheat
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