Fulfilling court orders won by the Center for Biological Diversity and the California Native Plant Society, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has issued proposed rules to designate and protect 92,244 acres of critical habitat for six endangered California plants. Five of the six plants have been waiting for federal protection since 1975 when the Smithsonian Institution petitioned to place them on the endangered species list. They languished in bureaucratic limbo for 25 years until the Center and the Native Plant Society filed suit to protect them. With 181 threatened and endangered plants, California is second only to Hawaii in plant imperilment.
Center initiatives have led to the protection of 126 species under the Endangered Species Act, including 86 plants and the designation of 37.6 million acres of critical habitat.
The purple amole (Chlorogalum purpureum), 21,980 acres. A member of the lily family, the amole occurs in oak woodland and grassland habitats in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties. It is threatened by military training, off-road vehicles, fire suppression, cattle grazing and invasive non-native species. Amole is an Aztec name brought to the U.S. by Spanish explorers from Mexico. It is also sometimes called a soap plant because Native Americans crushed the underground bulb into a lather with which to glue arrows together. The fibers of the bulb jacket were used to make brushes.
The Kneeland prairie penny-cress (Thlaspi californicum), 74 acres. A member of the mustard family, the penny-cress is endemic to serpentine soil on the outer north coast range of Humboldt County. It has declined by 48% since 1997 with only 5,100 plants remaining today. It is threatened by habitat fragmentation and destruction, primarily in the form of roads and helipad construction.
The La Graciosa thistle (Cirsium loncholepis), 44,315 acres. A member of the sunflower family, the thistle occurs in coastal dune habitat and wetlands in northern Santa Barbara and southern San Louis Obispo counties, including the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge. It has only 17 small and isolated locations left, many with less than 60 plants each, and 5 with fewer than 10 plants. It is threatened by agriculture, oil field development and aggressive non-native species.
The Lompoc yerba santa (Eriodictyon capitatum), 8,495 acres. A shrub in the waterleaf family, the yerba santa has lavender flowers and reaches heights of ten feet. It grows in maritime chaparral and bishop pine forests in western Santa Barbara county, and has just 4 known locations: 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base, and 2 on oil fields and private land, with 11-20 populations each. Its threats are land fragmentation, fire management practices, and naturally occurring catastrophic events.
The Gaviota tarplant (Deinandra increscens ssp. Villosa), 14,020 acres. A member of the sunflower family, the tarplant occurs in rare needlegrass grasslands on coastal terraces and ridgelines in the Santa Ynez Mountains, including Vandenberg Air Force Base. Most of the populations are on private lands owned by the petroleum industry, and are threatened by habitat loss and degradation due to development of oil and gas facilities.
The Santa Cruz tarplant (Holocarpha macradenia), 3,360 acres. A member of the aster family, the aromatic tarplant occurs in coastal prairie and marine terrace habitats. It has been reduced to just 13 native populations along the coast of central CA, primarily near the cities of Santa Cruz and Soquel. Habitat destruction and alteration caused by urban development is the most significant cause of its decline.