Pariette cactus exists in one drainage of northeastern Utah.
A Native Cactus Slipping Toward Extinction
Pariette cactus is one of Utah’s most beautiful and most imperiled wildflowers. The cactus exists in scattered populations across 18,000 acres of the Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah, and approximately 72% of the plant’s range occurs within areas already approved for oil and gas drilling. In addition, the BLM estimates that over 6,500 more wells will be drilled in the Uinta Basin in the next 15 years. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “due to the extent of current and pending energy development across its entire range, including direct and indirect effects of existing oil and gas development on virtually all of its range, the Pariette cactus is in danger of extinction throughout its entire range.”
Natural History
This small, barrel-shaped cactus is well suited to its desert environment, laying low to the ground and presenting a defense of short spines to would-be predators. Its flashy pinkish-purple flowers bloom from April to May. For years, this species was regarded as a subspecies under the Uinta Basin hookless cactus group. Only recently did biologists acknowledge that the Pariette was actually a separate species and warrants protection in its own right.
Conservation Status
-Currently protected as a Threatened species (and recognized as its own taxonomic entity) under the Endangered Species Act
-Currently warranted but precluded for uplisting to Endangered under the Endangered Species Act
-BLM Sensitive Species in Utah
Action Taken
To prevent a 900 well drilling project in its habitat from wiping out the Pariette cactus forever, we petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service in 2005 to grant Endangered Species Act protection to the cactus on an emergency basis. In response, the Service determined that listing the Pariette cactus as endangered is warranted due to impacts associated with energy development, unauthorized collection, and other factors affecting its continued existence. However, the Service says that it is precluded from providing these protections now because it must first work on conservation actions for other species. In the meantime, in 2009 the Service did finalize a rule recognizing three distinct cactus species that used to be considered one species: what was once termed the Uinta Basin hookless cactus is now divided into the Colorado hookless cactus, the Pariette cactus, and a smaller subset that retains the name Uinta Basin hookless cactus. All three are given Threatened status under the Endangered Species Act. We continue to push for habitat protections wherever these cacti remain, and recently succeeded in getting the BLM to stop a road paving project in the desert east of Duchesne. Additionally, the BLM has completely suspended drilling in one key habitat area until they can complete cactus surveys.
Read More
Petition to List Pariette Cactus as Endangered or Threatened
US Fish & Wildlife Service Preliminary Finding on Pariette Cactus
US Fish & Wildlife Service Secondary Finding on Pariette Cactus
