Yesterday, we had the opportunity to join the Zapata County Soil and Water Conservation District, local landowners and other partners to celebrate the delisting of Johnston’s frankenia. We started the day with visit to Chairman Jose Dodier’s property to see firsthand the work being done to conserve and protect this unique plant. Our visit was followed by an awards ceremony to recognize the landowners who had helped make the recent delisting of Johnston’s frankenia possible.
The event was attended by 26 people including community leaders, landowners, and the media attended the event which celebrated the efforts that led to the delisting of Johnston’s frankenia. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southwest Deputy Regional Director Joy Nicholopoulos, Jose Dodier, Chairman of the Zapata Soil and Water Conservation District, Robyn Cobb, USFWS, Anna Strong TPWD, and Gena Janssen, Janssen Biological attended the event.
Over 30 years ago the Service listed Johnston’s frankenia as endangered because the best available information indicated that there were less than 1,000 plants left in Starr, Zapata, and Webb counties in South Texas, and in Mexico. Thanks to the cooperative and dedicated efforts of our partners including the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the local Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, The Nature Conservancy, Texas Department of Transportation, the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission, and private landowners within the three-county area, the Service recently delisted Johnston’s frankenia. “The delisting of Johnston’s frankenia highlights the value and importance of private landowner involvement in the conservation and recovery of threatened and endangered species that occur primarily on privately-owned land,” said Joy Nicholopoulos, Deputy Regional Director for the Southwest Region. “Landowners are essential to maintaining, protecting and recovering species such as Johnston’s frankenia.”
We want to reiterate our appreciation for the efforts by the landowners and partners who have joined us last night, as well as those who weren’t able to be there, to help the Service better understand the status of Johnston’s frankenia and to protect and the plant.
