Status of Two Protected Southern New Mexico Plants Improves
There are more known populations of Gypsum wild-buckwheat and Kuenzler hedgehog cactus now than when first protected under the Endangered Species Act four decades ago. When first listed, only one population of each plant was known. The discovery of additional populations, together with efforts to conserve the plants and their habitat indicate significant strides have been made in their conservation. As a result, we’ve determined that the Gypsum wild-buckwheat is recovered and are proposing to remove it from the list of plants protected under the Act, and to reclassify the Kuenzler hedgehog cactus from “endangered” to “threatened.”
