Utah Native Plant Society

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: January 19, 2006

Contacts:
        Dr. Leila Shultz, Research Professor, Department of Forest, Range, and
            Wildlife Sciences, Utah State University, 435-797-0485
        Erin Robertson, Staff Biologist, Center for Native Ecosystems, 303-546-0214
        Tony Frates, Co-Conservation Chair and Rare Plants Coordinator, Utah
            Native Plant Society, 801-277-9240
        Dave Anderson, Vice President, Colorado Native Plant Society, 970-491-5857
        Steve Bloch, Staff Attorney, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance,
            801-486-3161 ext.3981

Endangered Species Act Protection Finally Proposed for Wildflower
Conservation Groups Praise Federal Proposal, Urge Prompt Action

Denver: Responding to the Fish and Wildlife Service's proposal today to
protect the Graham's beardtongue (Penstemon grahamii) as a threatened
species under the Endangered Species Act, a coalition of conservation
groups applauded the proposal and urged the government to follow through
as quickly as possible because threats from oil and gas drilling are
mounting.  Graham's beardtongue is a rare wildflower found only on oil
shale outcrops in the Uinta Basin of Utah and northeastern Colorado.
The Fish and Wildlife Service estimates there are only 6200 individual
plants left.  Graham's beardtongue first became an official Candidate
for Endangered Species Act protection in 1975.

"It's a good day for plants when something like this happens," said Dr.
Leila Shultz of Utah State University, who spent two seasons
inventorying Graham's beardtongue in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
"The plant itself is a unique biological resource that we shouldn't lose
from our ecosystem.  It's an indicator of a special habitat."

"Graham's beardtongue is finally moving toward the protection it
desperately needs after thirty years of waiting," said Erin Robertson,
staff biologist at Center for Native Ecosystems.  "Time is of the
essence to protect this beautiful wildflower, and this is what the
Endangered Species Act was made for."

Concerned about increasing drilling in the wildflower's habitat, Center
for Native Ecosystems (Denver), Utah Native Plant Society (Salt Lake
City), Colorado Native Plant Society (Fort Collins), Southern Utah
Wilderness Alliance (Salt Lake City), and American Lands Alliance
(Washington, D.C.) formally petitioned the Service to protect Graham's
beardtongue under the Act in 2002.  After the Service ignored the
petition, the coalition filed suit in 2003.  The Fish and Wildlife
Service announcement today was prompted by a court settlement reached in
September.  The Environmental Law Clinical Partnership at the University
of Denver College of Law represented the conservation groups in the lawsuit.

"As energy development in the region rapidly progresses, the listing of
this wildflower and the designation of its critical habitat will help to
ensure that conflicts are avoided and that its habitat is not
inadvertently destroyed," said Tony Frates of the Utah Native Plant Society.

The listing proposal announced today also includes 3,500 acres of
critical habitat for the wildflower, almost all of it in northeastern
Utah.  Most of this proposed critical habitat is found on Bureau of Land
Management land.  422 acres are on state land and 464 acres are on
private land.  This habitat includes the current surviving populations
as well as habitat designed to allow for recovery.

"The Uinta Basin is home to many rare wildflowers that are a part of
Colorado's unique natural heritage," said Dave Anderson, Vice President
of the Colorado Native Plant Society.  "We are relieved to see that the
Fish and Wildlife Service recognizes the threats these special plants
are facing and is doing something about it in the case of Graham's
beardtongue."

The Uinta Basin is already under intense pressure from oil and gas
drilling, and the Bush administration is rushing to approve commercial
mining of oil shale and tar sands in the Basin.  The BLM refers to the
Basin as "Utah's Oil Patch."

The Service is taking public comment on the proposal until March 20th,
and is under court order to make a final determination by December 2006.
"It's about time that this incredible wildflower is protected," said
Steve Bloch, Staff Attorney with Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.  "We
look forward to a final listing rule soon."

To download a picture of Graham's beardtongue for use (please credit to
Susan Meyer), please visit:

http://www.nativeecosystems.org/grahamspenstemon/images/meyerhires.jpg

More information and pictures:

Center for Native Ecosystems: Graham's Penstemon

Utah Rare Plant Guide: Penstemon grahamii

US Fish & Wildlife Service News Release

Federal Register January 19, 2006 listing proposal

For Immediate Release: October 11, 2005

Oil and Gas Drilling Threatens Endangered Wildflower with Extinction
Coalition Acts to Save Rare Plant

Contacts:
Erin Robertson, Staff Biologist, Center for Native Ecosystems,
303) 546-0214
Tony Frates, Utah Native Plant Society, (801) 277-9240

Oil and Gas Drilling Threatens Endangered Wildflower with Extinction
Coalition Acts to Save Rare Plant

Salt Lake City: A Bureau of Land Management proposal for more than 900
new oil wells in Utah's Uinta Basin threatens the endangered Pariette
cactus with extinction, asserts a lawsuit filed today.  Center for
Native Ecosystems and the Utah Native Plant Society filed a formal
"emergency listing petition" seeking immediate protection for this
spectacular native wildflower in April, and were forced to seek help
from the courts today because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service still
has not responded to their petition.

"In the face of intense oil and gas drilling, the Pariette cactus is
just hanging on," noted Tony Frates of the Utah Native Plant Society.
"It is critically important that we protect it under the Endangered
Species Act."

The proposed oil and gas drilling could irreversibly damage the only
known habitat for Pariette cactus - a single drainage in eastern Utah?s
tUinta Basin - as well as the Pariette Wetlands Area of Critical
Environmental Concern.

This native plant's precarious status is well known, and the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service has been considering adding Pariette cactus to the
Endangered Species Act list for over a decade.  The Bureau of Land
Management refers to the Uinta Basin as "Utah's oil patch" for good
reason.  In 2004, 1,006 permits to drill were approved by the state in
Uintah and Ducshesne Counties (the counties where Pariette cactus
occurs), and these accounted for over 91% of the permits issued that
year.  The BLM estimates that over 6,500 more wells will be drilled in
the Uinta Basin in the next 15 years.

"They've been making a lot of promises, but they haven't signed the
final decision yet," said Erin Robertson, Staff Biologist for Center for
Native Ecosystems.  "Their promises have a way of disappearing before
the ink dries."  The BLM claims that it will protect Pariette cactus
from the proposed drilling.

The Service is investigating BLM charges that the oil company proposing
the additional drilling bulldozed several Pariette cactus plants this
summer.

Pariette cactus has beautiful pink flowers and short spines which make
it unique.

For more information about Center for Native Ecosystems or to download a
high-resolution photograph of Pariette cactus, visit
http://www.nativeecosystems.org/.  For more information about Utah
Native Plant Society, visit http://www.unps.org.

Proposed highway project and sprawl development remain major threats to
desert web-of-life in Washington County.

Contact:  Tony Frates, Rare Plant Coordinator, UNPS  801.277.9240; Daniel R.
Patterson, Desert Ecologist, Center  520.623.5252 x306; Dr. Emily Roberson,
Botanist, Native Plant Conservation Campaign  415.970.0394

WASHINGTON DC - The US Interior Dept., Center for Biological Diversity
(Center), and Utah Native Plant Society (UNPS) have agreed to settle a
lawsuit filed Sept. 27 against the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) seeking
critical habitat for two endangered Mojave Desert plants found only near St.
George UT, the Holmgren milkvetch and the Shivwits milkvetch, as required by
the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

FWS has agreed to publish a critical habitat proposal by March 17, 2006, and
finalize it by December 16, 2006.  This conservation victory is a part of
the Center's Native Plant Conservation Campaign.

"Critical habitat works - it's the most important action to recover
endangered species," said Daniel R. Patterson, Desert Ecologist with the
Center.  "As wildlife habitat in the Mojave Desert is lost, so is the human
quality of life.  We offer to work closely with FWS to get a proposal done
quickly to secure habitat for conservation and recovery, too bad it took a
lawsuit to get FWS to move."

Initially discovered in 1941 but not rediscovered again until 1979, the rare
Holmgren milkvetch (Astragalus holmgreniorum, named in honor of Drs. Noel
and Patricia Holmgren and also known as Paradox milkvetch), and the Shivwits
milkvetch (Astragalus ampullarioides, also known as Shem milkvetch, in
reference to a site where the species was first found in 1976) were both
listed as endangered species by FWS on 9/28/01, under an agreement with the
Center.  Both species occur only in Washington County near sprawling St.
George, Utah (except for a small area just over the state line in Mohave
County AZ historically occupied by the Holmgren milkvetch, but the plant may
now be extirpated there).

There are only three known populations of Holmgren milkvetch.  The primary
population lives within a limited area south of St. George along the
Utah-Arizona border. This population is seriously threatened by a proposed
interchange that would connect I-15 to the proposed Southern Corridor
highway, as well as urban sprawl planned by the state of Utah, and other
habitat loss that would follow the highway.  The highway plan is currently
out for public comment through June 22.

The Shivwits milkvetch lives on only five known sites.  Most habitat at one
site that formerly harbored several hundred plants was nearly destroyed by a
recent golf course development.  Both species are also threatened by
non-native invasive plant species, off-road vehicles, mining, and livestock
grazing.

Habitat destruction is the primary threat to both of these endemic species.
"These species are truly in peril", said Dr. Renee Van Buren, a Botanist
with Utah Valley State College who specializes in endangered species.
"Critical habitat protection is essential to prevent their extinction, and
promote recovery."

A primary purpose of the ESA is to provide a mechanism so that ".the
ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may
be conserved." These species are severely restricted geographically, just as
if they were living on islands.   Typically rare plant species have adapted
to specific soil types and microenvironments outside of which they cannot
survive.  This includes a complex association with other species, including
ground nesting, solitary native bees (rare plants usually do not
self-pollinate).  Therefore, it is essential to protect the habitat in which
these plants thrive in order to ensure the continued existence of these
species.

Peer-reviewed and published studies by the Center using FWS' own data proves
that endangered plants & animals with critical habitat are less likely to be
declining, and twice as likely to be recovering, than those without.  Yet,
FWS has designated critical habitat for only 37% of endangered wildlife in
Utah.

While not the case for most of Utah's 24 federally listed plant species, FWS
found that designating critical habitat for the Holmgren milkvetch and the
Shivwits milkvetch would be prudent and beneficial to the species.  Yet 3
years after listing, FWS still has not designated critical habitat or
finished recovery plans for the two species as required by U.S. law.
Private landowners are not affected by the federal listing of plant species,
nor the designation of critical habitat.

Utah has over 2700 species of native plants and it is estimated that over
10% of these are globally rare and potentially vulnerable.   The extent to
which a species is considered rare involves a variety of factors including
the number of populations and remaining individual plants, and the area over
which it occurs.

Center for Biological Diversity . Utah Native Plant Society

NEWS RELEASE - for immediate release September 27, 2004

BIOLOGISTS GO TO COURT FOR MOJAVE RARE PLANT HABITAT

Contact:   Tony Frates, Rare Plant Coordinator, UNPS  801.277.9240
           Daniel R. Patterson, Ecologist, Center  520.623.5252 x306


WASHINGTON DC - The Center for Biological Diversity (Center) and Utah Native Plant Society (UNPS) filed a lawsuit
today against the Bush Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) challenging their failure to designate critical habitat and to
implement a recovery plan for two endangered Mojave Desert plants, the Holmgren milkvetch and the Shivwits milkvetch,
as required by the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  FWS did not respond to a May notice of intent to sue.

Initially discovered in 1941 but not rediscovered again until 1979, the rare Holmgren milkvetch
(Astragalus holmgreniorum, named in honor of Drs. Noel and Patricia Holmgren and also known as Paradox milkvetch),
and the Shivwits milkvetch (Astragalus ampullarioides, also known as Shem milkvetch, in reference to a site where the
species was first found in 1976) were both listed as endangered species by FWS on 9/28/01, under an agreement with the
Center.  Both species occur only in Washington County near sprawling St. George, Utah (except for a small area just
over the state line in Mohave County AZ historically occupied by the Holmgren milkvetch, but the plant may now be
extirpated there).

There are only three known populations of Holmgren milkvetch.  The primary population lives within a limited area south
of St. George along the Utah-Arizona border. This population is seriously threatened by a proposed interchange that
would connect I-15 to the proposed Southern Corridor highway, as well as urban sprawl planned by the state of Utah,
and other habitat loss that would follow the highway.

The Shivwits milkvetch lives on only five known sites.  Most habitat at one site that formerly harbored several hundred
plants was nearly destroyed by a recent golf course development.  Both species are also threatened by non-native
invasive plant species, off-road vehicles, mining, and livestock grazing.

Habitat destruction is the primary threat to both of these endemic species. "These species are truly in peril", said
Dr. Renee Van Buren, a Botanist with Utah Valley State College who specializes in endangered species. "Critical habitat
protection is essential to prevent their extinction, and promote recovery."

A primary purpose of the ESA is to provide a mechanism so that ".the ecosystems upon which endangered species and
threatened species depend may be conserved." These species are severely restricted geographically, just as if they were
living on islands. Typically rare plant species have adapted to specific soil types and microenvironments outside of
which they cannot survive.  This includes a complex association with other species, including ground nesting, solitary
native bees (rare plants usually do not self-pollinate).  Therefore, it is essential to protect the habitat in which
these plants thrive in order to ensure the continued existence of these species.

FWS' own data proves that endangered plants & animals with critical habitat are less likely to be declining, and twice
as likely to be recovering, than those without.  Yet, FWS has designated critical habitat for only 37% of endangered
wildlife in Utah.

While not the case for most of Utah's 24 federally listed plant species, FWS found that designating critical habitat
for the Holmgren milkvetch and the Shivwits milkvetch would be prudent and beneficial to the species.  Yet 3 years
after listing, FWS still has not designated critical habitat or finished recovery plans for the two species as required
by U.S. law. Private landowners are not affected by the federal listing of plant species, nor the designation of
critical habitat.

"Critical habitat works - it's the most important action to recover endangered species," said Daniel R. Patterson,
Ecologist with the Center. "As wildlife habitat in the Mojave Desert is lost, so is the human quality of life."

Utah has over 2700 species of native plants and it is estimated that over 10% of these are globally rare and
potentially vulnerable.   The extent to which a species is considered rare involves a variety of factors including
the number of populations and remaining individual plants, and the area over which it occurs.

Plaintiffs are represented by attorney Robin Cooley of the Center's Environmental Law Clinical Partnership at the
University of Denver College of Law.