The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that recovery efforts have enabled it to downlist the large-flowered skullcap, a mountainous plant that produces a blue and white flower, from endangered to threatened status under the Endangered Species Act.
The skullcap, found in northwestern Georgia and southeastern Tennessee, was first listed as endangered in 1986. The recovery of the species to threatened status is a result of the dedicated work of a number partners including natural resource agencies in Tennessee and Georgia, the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, the University of Tennessee, the Tennessee Aquarium, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
"The large-flowered skullcap shows us that the Endangered Species Act works to bring species back from the brink of extinction," said Sam Hamilton, Southeast Regional Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. "Through continued efforts, we hope we will eventually be able to delist the skullcap altogether."
A species is listed as endangered when it in imminent danger of extinction. The less-critical threatened designation means the species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
The plant
