PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed removing wildflower called the Bradshaw’s desert parsley from the Endangered Species List, saying it has successfully rebounded after being nearly wiped out more than three decades ago.
The wildflower, which grows in wet prairie habitat, is only found in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and in nearby southwest Washington state, said Tierra Curry, a biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity in Portland.
Since the desert parsley was first granted federal protection in 1988, its population has increased from about 25,000 flowers in 11 distinct populations to more than 11 million flowers in two dozen populations, she said.
The plants features tight clusters of tiny yellow blooms and had suffered from habitat loss before it was listed.
“It’s always good news when a plant or animal is saved from extinction, so today we celebrate Bradshaw’s desert parsley and the Endangered Species Act,” Curry said. “This lovely wildflower is yet another success for America’s most effective conservation law, which has saved more than 99 percent of species placed under its care.”
The delisting proposal comes as the Center for Biological Diversity has filed a notice of its intent to sue the federal government over its failure to decide whether 274 other species of plants and animals across the U.S. should be federally protected. The organization filed the required notice of its coming lawsuit on Nov. 20 with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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