The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that it will list Ambrosia pumila (San Diego ambrosia), a rare member of the sunflower family found in southern California and northern Baja California in Mexico, as an endangered species under the Federal Endangered Species Act.
Once found on 40 distinct sites in San Diego County and Riverside County, occurrences of San Diego ambrosia in the United States are now restricted to 12 sites in San Diego County and three in Riverside County. The Service has worked for several years prior to listing with the city and county of San Diego and Riverside County to protect the San Diego ambrosia wherever it occurs.
AAlthough all known occurrences of the San Diego ambrosia are already being protected or are proposed for protection through habitat conservation plans, the small number of plants and limited genetic diversity make the species especially vulnerable to a random catastrophic event such as fire,@ said Jim Bartel, field supervisor for the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife office.
The species is threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation from urban and recreational development; highway construction and maintenance activities; trampling and soil compaction from horses, humans, and vehicles; maintenance of utility easements; and introduction of non-native plants.
San Diego ambrosia occurs primarily on the upper terraces of rivers and drainages, open grasslands, openings in coastal sage scrub and occasionally in areas adjacent to vernal pools. San Diego ambrosia has a branching root structure that spreads horizontally underground sprouting new stems each year. These stems generally grow two to 12 inches high and may produce yellowish to greenish-colored flowers that appear from May to October.
Seven of the 12 San Diego County occurrences are already protected under the planning umbrella of the Multiple Species Conservation Program and related plans of the county and city of San Diego. Two of those occurrences are found on the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, where efforts are underway to protect the plant from impacts associated with equestrian and hiking activities, and maintenance of fire breaks.
The remaining five occurrences in San Diego County are being proposed for conservation: Two populations have been proposed for protection by the City of El Cajon=s Multiple Species Conservation Plan subarea plan, two within the North County Multiple Species Conservation Plan subarea plan, and one under the Multiple Habitat Conservation Plan. These plans are still being completed, however, and have not been approved by the Service.
Of the three occurrences of San Diego ambrosia in Riverside County, one is within a biological reserve established in conjunction with the Rancho Bella Vista Habitat Conservation Plan, one is near the City of Lake Elsinore, and the third is near Alberhill. All three populations are included in the planning area of the proposed Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan.
The Endangered Species Act directs Federal agencies to protect and promote the recovery of federally listed species; consequently, Federal lands provide the greatest protection for endangered and threatened plants. Where listed plants occur on Federal lands, consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service is required when projects or activities may affect the species. For private and non-Federal landowners, however, consultations come into play only in cases where activities involving plants require Federal funding or permitting.
In the absence of Federal involvement, the Endangered Species Act does not provide any greater protection to listed plants on private lands than they already receive under state law. The Endangered Species Act also does not prohibit "take" of listed plants on private lands, but landowners must still comply with state laws protecting imperiled plants. California landowners who may have this plant on their property are encouraged to contact the state Department of Fish and Game for further guidance.
Native plants are important for their ecological, economic and aesthetic values. Plants produce the oxygen we breathe and play an important role in the development of crops that resist disease, insects and drought. At least 25 percent of prescription drugs contain ingredients derived from plant compounds, including medicine used to treat cancer, heart disease, juvenile leukemia, and malaria, and to assist organ transplants. The decline of plant species is an indicator of the health of the environment.
The San Diego ambrosia was first identified as a candidate for listing under the Act in 1978, when it was included in a Smithsonian Institution report on plants considered to be threatened, endangered, or extinct in the United States. In 1997, the Center for Biological Diversity and the San Diego Chapter of the California Native Plant Society also petitioned the Service to list the San Diego ambrosia as endangered under the Act. The petitioners filed a lawsuit in 1998, challenging the Service=s failure to publish its 90-day and 12-month petition findings in a timely manner.
On April 19, 1999, the Service published a 90-day finding in the Federal Register determining that listing the plant may be warranted. A proposed rule to list the species as endangered was published in the Federal Register on December 29, 1999. A final rule to list the ambrosia was delayed while the Service directed its limited resources to complying with numerous higher-priority listing actions. In October 2001, a settlement agreement between the Department of the Interior and several conservation groups allowed the Service to move forward with final listing determinations for 14 species, including the San Diego ambrosia. Today=s publication of the final rule to list the San Diego ambrosia under the Act complies with the terms of the court-approved settlement agreement. The protections of the Endangered Species Act apply to the San Diego ambrosia 30 days after today=s publication of the final rule.
The Service has determined that designation of critical habitat for the San Diego ambrosia is prudent, but a proposal to designate critical habitat is being deferred so that we can concentrate our limited resources on other higher-priority listing actions.
Information about the listing of the San Diego ambrosia under the Act may be downloaded from the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office=s Internet website at http://carlsbad.fws.gov">.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses nearly 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov">.
