By Joan E. Canfield

Protection for the Nation's endangered plants has advanced dramatically over the past 20 years. In 1976, the inaugural issue of the Endangered Species Bulletin announced the very first proposals to place U.S. plants on the endangered species list. At that time, no plants were protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Today, however, plants comprise over half the Nation's listed species.

Haleakala silversword. Photo credit: Joan E. Canfield

When enacted in 1973, the ESA directed the Smithsonian Institution to review the status of U.S. plants and report back to Congress by January 1975. Hired by the Smithsonian to help with this task in June 1974, I spent the summer poring over every available floral manual in the National Museum of Natural History's library, documenting on 3-by-5 cards any plant described as rare or having a highly limited distribution. Refined by botanical specialists from around the country, this preliminary list was the first step in extending ESA protection to the plant kingdom.

The January 1975 Smithsonian report identified 3,187 plants as potential candidates for listing. It was accepted and published by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) as a notice of review in July 1975. The Bulletin's first issue reported that, after public comment and FWS analysis, over 1,750 of those plants were proposed for listing as endangered as of June 1976. The Bulletin's third issue reported on the "conflicting views" voiced at four public hearings held in the summer of 1976 on the plant proposals. The major issues parallel concerns echoed in 1996 about reauthorization of the ESA and efforts to increase its flexibility:

• A State agency favored striking a balance between human needs and the needs of endangered species.
• Environmental and commercial enterprises disagreed over the need to preserve species in their natural habitat vs. propagating and maintaining them in non-wild settings.
• A scientist advocated species protection in order to maintain the ecosystems that we depend on for such basic needs as clean drinking water.

Compared to today's roster of proposed U.S. species (196 plants; 42 animals), that blanket proposal of 1,700 plants is striking. However, after the 1978 amendments to the ESA set a limit on the time allowed for completing listing actions, the proposals for most of those plants had to be withdrawn in 1979.

Meanwhile, in 1977, the first plants were placed on the endangered species list: four species from San Clemente Island, California. By January 1980, 56 plants were listed. Ten years later, the roster had grown to 218 plants. Federal protection for plants has improved even more dramatically in the 1990's. Today, plants account for 55 percent of the Nation's 960 listed species. During this decade, the FWS has become more efficient at processing plant listings. For example, in one instance the FWS grouped 25 species from a single area or ecosystem into a single rulemaking package. In addition to the 525 listed plants, 196 proposed plants currently await a final listing decision, and 81 more are candidates for listing. The slate of plants at risk of extinction is not yet wiped clean.

Where do these plants come from? Just as the Bulletin's first issue stated, most proposed and listed plants today are native to Hawaii, California, Florida, or Texas. Almost half (260) of the currently listed plants are either from Hawaii or California. Every State but South Dakota contains at least one native listed plant.

What factors drive plants to the point of needing ESA protection? Habitat destruction and modification are primary causes. Predation or trampling by domestic or feral animals often plays a significant role. On islands such as San Clemente or the Hawaiian chain, competition from aggressive, non-native plants is a major factor. Native plants with commercial value, such as cacti, orchids, and carnivorous plants, are threatened by excessive collection. Finally, some plants that have been reduced to very small populations risk extinction because of a limited gene pool and inbreeding depression. In other extreme situations, the loss of a pollinator or seed-dispersal agent may push a highly specialized plant toward extinction.

The good news is that often simple, relatively inexpensive recovery measures can turn the fate of a listed plant around. Unlike most animals, plants don't migrate or wander, and reproduction is typically a less complicated affair. In most cases, controlled propagation is far cheaper and more successful for plants than for animals. Fencing out predators has led to amazing increases in species such as Hawaii's threatened Haleakala silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense ssp. sandwicense, see photo above), which was imperiled by feral goats.

Even public education can lead to recovery, if a local community adopts a plant and protects its habitat, or -- as in the case of the eastern prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera leucophaea) in Illinois -- volunteers pollinate the flowers by hand and disperse the seed.

The FWS is increasingly conscious of the need for stewardship of our "green creatures." Lake Wales Ridge in central Florida is the site of the first National Wildlife Refuge established for the protection of endangered plants. In addition to recovery plans, separate habitat conservation plans are being set up for some listed plants, as well as animals, in habitats such as coastal sage scrub in southern California.

The FWS has also joined a national public/private partnership to protect the country's native plants and their habitats. The Federal Native Plant Conservation Committee, established in May 1994, includes five agencies from the Department of Interior, three from the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Defense. Fifty-three non-Federal institutions from across the country are official cooperators. This initiative sponsors on-the-ground conservation projects through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and outreach efforts such as the "Celebrating Wildflowers" program. It also serves as a national clearinghouse for professional, lay, and governmental groups interested in promoting the conservation of native plants in healthy ecosystems.

Just as in 1976, many plant species are now awaiting consideration for Federal protection under the ESA. With the lifting of the Congressional listing moratorium in April 1996, the FWS has embarked on an effort to swiftly resolve the backlog of proposed species. Before the close of this year, we hope to publish final listing decisions on the majority of roughly 150 proposed plants that now face imminent, high magnitude threats.

Recovery plans (often covering multiple species, and sometimes both plants and animals) continue to be prepared with the help of experts in universities and State agencies. Although endangered species funding is limited, recovery efforts through State and Federal agencies are improving the status of many of our 525 listed plants. Conservation agreements aid efforts to protect plants before they reach the point of needing to be listed. Rare pitcher plant species are now covered by such agreements on Alabama timber lands owned by the International Paper Corporation.

By the time the Bulletin celebrates its 40th anniversary, I look forward to seeing a still larger step forward in the protection of our Nation's plant heritage.

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