The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is seeking public comment on a proposal to list the Arizona eryngo, a wetland plant, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service is also requesting input on a proposal to designate 13 acres of land as critical habitat for the species in Pima and Cochise counties in Arizona.
“Critical habitat helps focus conservation efforts where they are needed most,” said Amy Lueders, Regional Director for the Service. “If finalized, this rule would help us conserve the Arizona eryngo, and the ecosystem on which it depends for future generations.”
The Arizona eryngo is a flowering plant in the carrot family that is frequented by pollinators such as butterflies and hummingbirds. It is native to Arizona and New Mexico in the U.S. and Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico. It currently grows in four populations: two in southern Arizona and two in Mexico. Conservation efforts to establish additional populations have begun.
The Arizona eryngo grows only in cienegas, a type of wetland fed by natural springs. The groundwater that feeds the wetland is being depleted by pumping and diversion, which is damaging the species’ habitat. The species is also threatened by nonnative plants and woody vegetation that invade this habitat as a result of a warmer and drier climate due to climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.
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The proposed rule to list the Arizona eryngo as endangered under the ESA will publish in the Federal Register on March 4, 2021 opening a 60-day public comment period. The Service will consider comments from all interested parties received by May 3. Information on how to submit comments is available at www.regulations.gov by searching under docket number FWS-ES-2020–013. Copies of the proposed listing are available online at https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/arizona/.
For additional information, contact Jeff Humphrey (field supervisor) by telephone at (602) 242-0210, or by mail at: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Ecological Services Field Office, 9828 N 31st Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85051.
