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on Desert Yellowhead Protection Plan
For Immediate Release For More Information: Denver, Colorado – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced the reopening of a public comment period on a proposed Critical Habitat Designation for the desert yellowhead (Yermo xanthocephalus), an extremely rare plant found only near Beaver Rim in central Wyoming. “The desert yellowhead survives on only a handful of acres, and the economic impacts of protecting this highly endangered plant are negligible,” commented Jacob Smith, Center for Native Ecosystem’s Executive Director. Although Endangered Species Act listing confers protection to the plants themselves, Critical Habitat requires federal agencies to better protect the plant's habitat as well. The Critical Habitat Designation is unlikely to affect adjacent private landowners. "The designation of Critical Habitat is a key step in recovering endangered species and removing them from the Endangered Species Act list," added Smith. The Fish and Wildlife Service's own data show that species with Critical Habitat are more likely to be recovering than those without it. The desert yellowhead is a beautiful but rare member of the sunflower family restricted to a single known population in central Wyoming. It is considered to be the sole member of its genus, underscoring its substantial biological value. The yellowhead, discovered in 1990, is threatened by motorized vehicle use, oil and gas drilling, mining, and trampling by livestock. The extremely small size of the one known population makes the species particularly vulnerable to extinction. Citizen efforts to save the yellowhead from extinction began in 1997, when Biodiversity Legal Foundation and Biodiversity Associates petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the plant under the Endangered Species Act. “The best scientific information clearly shows that the desert yellowhead needs the protection of the Endangered Species Act, including the designation of Critical Habitat,” noted Erik Molvar, Wildlife Biologist for Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. “It is a unique biological treasure and part of our nation’s natural heritage. It is time to give this unique and rare plant the protection it deserves under the law.” For more information on the desert yellowhead and efforts to protect the plant and its habitat, visit www.nativeecosystems.org/desertyellowhead/. Read more about critical habitat designation (24k pdf).
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