U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Critical Habitat for a Threatened Wyoming Plant

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed today that 360 acres of federally managed lands in the Beaver Rim area in Fremont County, Wyoming, be designated as habitat critical to the survival of the desert yellowhead, a perennial herb in the sunflower family.

The Endangered Species Act requires the Service to consider economic and other relevant impacts of designating a particular area as critical habitat. The Service will complete a draft economic analysis and an environmental assessment, both of which will be made available to the public for comment before a final determination of critical habitat is made.

According to surveys done in 2001, there are approximately 12,000 plants in the only known population of the desert yellowhead