Oil and gas drilling threatens nearly all remaining DeBeque milkvetch habitat.
A Rare Native Wildflower
DeBeque Milkvetch is one of Colorado’s most endangered native wildflowers, at risk of extinction due to noxious weeds, roads, recreation, livestock, and climate change. Of particular concern is the explosion of oil and gas drilling in the Roan Plateau area and the valleys around DeBeque, Colorado. The base of the Roan Plateau is already heavily developed with drill rigs, roads, and other drilling infrastructure, and industry insiders forecast 10,000 new wells in Garfield County in the coming decades. The plant’s rarity dramatically increases its risk of extinction as well.
Natural History
DeBeque milkvetch was discovered and described in 1984 by a Brigham Young University botanist. The native wildflower, a member of the pea family, grows only near the Roan Plateau area and near the town of DeBeque. It is commonly located on barren outcrops and along drainages, but the plants are sometimes found on steep side-slopes as well.
Conservation Status
-BLM Sensitive Species in Colorado
Action Taken
Center for Native Ecosystems, with the Colorado Native Plant Society, petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect DeBeque milkvetch under the Endangered Species Act in 2004. The Service subsequently denied our petition. While we plan our next action to secure protection under the Act, we also seek to stem the most immediate threats to the plant’s survival. We succeeded in getting important DeBeque milkvetch habitat pulled from oil and gas lease sales on South Shale Ridge, and continue to closely monitor drilling plans on the Roan Plateau to minimize degradation of key milkvetch habitat there as well.
Read More
Petition to List DeBeque Milkvetch as Endangered or Threatened
