Slickspot peppergrass, a plant found on Idahos northern Snake River Plain and Owyhee Plateau, does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today.
While the quality of some of the plants known habitat has decreased, the current population trends do not appear to be significantly influenced by this habitat degradation. It appears that the lack of spring rains are the major limiting factor for the plants population growth, but as survey efforts continue, new occurrences of the plant are being discovered.
"This decision follows an extensive review of existing and new scientific information and data," said Ren Lohoefener, director of the Services Pacific Region. "The review included completion of a risk assessment by a panel of scientific experts from outside the agency, an evaluation of conservation efforts underway for the plant, deliberation by a panel of Service managers, as well as consideration of comments from the public."
In making the announcement, Service officials stressed the importance of ongoing conservation efforts for the plant. These efforts are particularly important in light of the increasing number of wildfires, fueled largely by invasive, exotic grasses, which alter the diversity and composition of the native plant community.
"Given the decline in quality of the sagebrush sagebrush
The western United States’ sagebrush country encompasses over 175 million acres of public and private lands. The sagebrush landscape provides many benefits to our rural economies and communities, and it serves as crucial habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including the iconic greater sage-grouse and over 350 other species.
Learn more about sagebrush -steppe ecosystem, we believe it is important to continue efforts to conserve slickspot peppergrass and reduce the threats to the sagebrush-steppe habitat," said Jeff Foss, Field Supervisor of the Service's Snake River Fish and Wildlife Office. "We are committed to supporting cooperative conservation efforts and monitoring slickspot peppergrass populations to ensure that the species does not need ESA protection in the future."
The Services finding, which will be published later this week in the Federal Register, is in response to an August 19, 2005 court order. That order reversed the Services withdrawal of a 2002 proposal to add the slickspot peppergrass to the federal list of threatened and endangered species. The court directed the agency to reconsider whether the plant should be protected under ESA.
The additional court-mandated review reaffirmed the Service's 2004 conclusion that ?there is a lack of strong evidence of a negative population trend? and showed that rangewide, the population has increased throughout its range since 2004.
Slickspot peppergrass is an herbaceous plant with numerous tiny white flowers resembling the garden flower sweet alyssum. It is found almost exclusively in the Snake River Plain and its adjacent northern foothills in southwestern Idaho, with a separate population on Idaho's Owyhee Plateau. It typically occurs in small-scale, relatively moist habitats called "slickspots" found in sagebrush-steppe habitats at elevations ranging from 2,200 feet to 5,400 feet in Ada, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Owyhee and Payette counties.
Approximately 87 percent of the slickspot peppergrass population occurs on federal land, primarily managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Defense. Nine percent of the population occurs on state land and four percent is found on private lands. Military lands that contain slickspot peppergrass include the Juniper Butte Training Range, managed by the Mountain Home U.S. Air Force Base, and the Orchard Training Area (OTA), managed by the Idaho Army National Guard and BLM.
Four conservation plans currently exist for slickspot peppergrass. A number of conservation measures are found in the State of Idahos Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA), originally developed in 2003 and modified in early 2006 by the State of Idaho, Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Army National Guard and several non-governmental cooperating parties. The Idaho Army National Guard and U.S. Air Force management plans include measures designed to conserve the plant and avoid or reduce potentially adverse effects of military training on the species and its habitat. In addition, a conservation agreement at the Boise Airport focuses on protecting and conserving the species.
More information about the Services decision may be found at http://idahoes.fws.gov or at http://www.fws.gov/pacific.
- FWS -
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 95millionacre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 81 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 and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds
of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit our homepage at http://www.fws.gov
