WildEarth Guardians

Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Habitat Protection Sought for Rare Pecos Sunflower

The Pecos sunflower exists in desert wetlands in limited areas of western Texas and west-central and eastern New Mexico. The plant is imperiled due to the loss and degradation of its wetland habitat.
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

Santa Fe, NM - WildEarth Guardians filed suit in federal court today, seeking critical habitat designation for the rare Pecos sunflower. The Pecos sunflower exists in desert wetlands in limited areas of western Texas and west-central and eastern New Mexico. The plant is imperiled due to the loss and degradation of its wetland habitat, caused by groundwater pumping for agriculture and municipal use, filling of wetlands for development, invasion of non-native species, and destruction by livestock and oil and gas drilling.

“This beautiful symbol of desert wetlands in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas is barely holding on,” said Dr. Nicole Rosmarino of WildEarth Guardians. “In an area where threats from municipal development, livestock grazing, and oil and gas drilling are severe, critical habitat protection is vital for ensuring this imperiled plant’s survival and eventual recovery.”

After 24 years of delay, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) protected the Pecos sunflower by listing it as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in October 1999. Although the Act requires the Service to protect the critical habitat of the species at the same time it is listed, the agency has not done so.

“Critical habitat includes all areas, whether currently occupied or not, that are essential for the conservation of the sunflower,” said Robin Cooley, attorney with the Environmental Law Clinical Partnership at the University of Denver. “Designation of critical habitat provides an extra layer of protection for listed species because federal agencies must ensure that their actions will not harm this habitat.”

In April 2005, WildEarth Guardians warned the Service that critical habitat designation for the sunflower was long overdue. Research has shown that species with critical habitat designations are more than twice as likely to recover as those lacking this protection.

In related actions, WildEarth Guardians appealed the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) July 2004 leasing of parcels for oil and gas development with Pecos Sunflower habitat. In 2003, the group appealed the BLM’s plan to allow drilling of oil and gas wells adjacent to the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge without sufficient protections for endangered species. A major habitat area for the sunflower exists on this refuge and may be harmed if oil and gas drilling on BLM lands adjacent to the refuge proceeds.

The Pecos sunflower, which can reach six feet in height, looks similar to the common sunflower, except it has narrower leaves, fewer hairs on the stems and leaves, and slightly smaller flower heads. It is restricted to wetland habitat and currently only seven populations are known to exist, most of which are located in New Mexico. Nearly all of the sites are less than five acres in size and approximately one half of the sites are on federal land.

In September 2005, the Service approved a final Recovery Plan for the Pecos sunflower. The Recovery Plan identified habitat loss and modification as the primary threat to the species. WildEarth Guardians charges that critical habitat designation would therefore complement the Recovery Plan and better assure the species’ status improves.

WildEarth Guardians is represented by attorneys and students at the University of Denver College of Law’s Environmental Law Clinical Partnership.

Background information on the lawsuit and the Pecos sunflower is available from Nicole Rosmarino at the contact information above.