U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lists Pecos Sunflower as Threatened Species

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today listed the Pecos sunflower, a rare wetland plant found in New Mexico and western Texas, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. A species is designated as threatened when it is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

The Pecos sunflower (Helianthus paradoxus) is a large showy sunflower that grows in desert wetlands. It looks much like the common sunflower seen along roadsides throughout the West, but has longer and narrower leaves and slightly smaller flower heads. It also blooms later in the summer.

The plant is found at 25 sites in four areas of New Mexico, near the Town of Grants, along the lower part of the Rio San Jose, around the Town of Santa Rosa, and near the Pecos River from just north of Roswell to Dexter. In Texas, it is found near Fort Stockton and Balmorhea. Most sites are limited to only a few acres of wetland habitat, but sites at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge and at a preserve owned by the Nature Conservancy of Texas near Fort Stockton are more extensive.

The major threat to Pecos sunflower is continued loss of its wetland habitat. This has occurred through the dewatering of springs due to groundwater pumping, water diversions, wetland filling, and saltcedar invasion.

"Listing the sunflower as threatened will not force private landowners to change any existing land practices. The Endangered Species Act does not prohibit