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19 Endangered Species Tech. Bull. 1 (1994)

handle is hein.animal/endanspb0019 and id is 1 raw text is: January/February 1994 Vol. XIX No. 1 m m. m -Um -- - m- MW - - W= Mm Am. s-o w m -M- Am EEL M lab. M -M M- - -- - - Tech icalBulltinU.S. Department of the Interior Tech icalBulltinFish and Wildlife Service Improved Status Leads to Reclassification Proposals for Two Plant Species The status of two plant species cur- rently listed as Endangered has improved enough that the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) recently proposed to reclassify them to the less critical category of Threatened: Small Whorled Pogonia (Isotria medeoloides) A small green orchid, this species is dis- tinguished by the five or six leaves dis- played in a whorl with a yellowish-green flower in the center. It grows in fairly young forests and in maturing stands of mixed-deciduous or mixed-deciduous/co- niferous forests. Populations of the small whorled pogonia occur at sites from southern Maine through the Atlantic sea- board States to northern Georgia and southeastern Tennessee. Outlying colo- nies have been found in the western half of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illi- nois, and Ontario, Canada. Concerns about habitat loss led to the listing of this species as Endangered in 1982. Among the recommendations contained in the 1985 Small Whorled Pogonia Recovery Plan were searches for additional populations, protection for a sufficient number of sites, and research into the plant's life history. Since 1985, botanists have located additional popula- tions and sought to protect a number of sites. About 60 percent of the viable sites are now secure. Many of the protected populations are on public lands, though the voluntary cooperation of private landowners and conservation organiza- tions continues to be vital to the recovery of the small whorled pogonia. Manage- ment will benefit from the increased knowledge of the species' habitat needs. On November 29, 1993, in accor- dance with criteria in the 1992 revised recovery plan, the FWS proposed to re- Habitat protection and landowner cooperation have helped improve the status of this woodland orchid, the small whorled pogonia. classify the small whorled pogonia as Threatened. Although the species is no longer believed to be in imminent dan- ger of extinction, complete delisting is not appropriate until additional sites are protected. Loch Lomond Coyote Thistle (Eryngium constancei) Despite its common name, this plant is not a thistle but a perennial herb in the parsley family (Apiaceae). It occurs only on the floor of Loch Lomond, a vernal lake in California. Vernal lakes and pools are an unusual habitat type forming in areas with Mediterranean climates where slight depressions underlain with an im- pervious soil layer fill with water after fall and winter rains. These seasonal wet- lands then dry slowly during the spring and summer. The cyclic wetting and drying create an unusual ecological situa- tion supporting a unique biota. Many plants and animals are adapted specifi- cally to this environment and cannot sur- vive outside the temporary pools. In 1985, after the lake bed was par- tially dredged and filled, and plans were made to fill the rest, the FWS listed the Loch Lomond coyote-thistle as Endan- gered. At the time, the plants habitat was also threatened by off-road vehicles, hikers, highway maintenance, and trash dumping. Subsequently, the State of Cali- fornia purchased the lake and, with FWS assistance, installed a split-rail fence. Both of these actions greatly reduced the potential for disturbance of the lake floor. Because the species is now believed to be more secure, the FWS proposed No- vember 29 to reclassify the Loch Lomond coyote-thistle as Threatened. Complete delisting is not believed appropriate at this time due to occasional vandalism, the (continued on page 20) ENDANGERED SPECIES TECHNICAL BULLETIN Vol. XIX No. (1994)

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