Rare Oregon Wildflower Might be Listed as 'Endangered' Within 12 Months

The tall western penstemon, a rare Oregon wildflower, will potentially be protected under the Endangered Species Act, according to a recent announcement from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The organization now has a year to decide whether to put the endangered Pacific Northwest flower under protection.

To have the rare flower protected, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned for the Service in January. Only five distinct populations of the tall western penstemon have been identified, and they are only slightly dispersed from the southwestern parts of Washington to northwestern Oregon.

Tall Western Penstemon

Quinn Read, the Center's policy director for Oregon, said that this is a crucial step in the process of preventing the extinction of this exquisite and rare flower. She added that since time was of the essence, the Service must quickly complete its task and take all necessary precautions to safeguard the tall western penstemon.

'Beardtongues' is the common name for a genus of plants that includes the tall western penstemon. This plant's vivid purple-blue flowers, which are perched on unusually long stems, are characteristic of the region's rare, ecologically intact wet prairies.

The historic wetland habitat of the species was almost completely gone or severely degraded throughout the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area due to extensive urban and agricultural development. Local botanists found the species again on the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge in 2008 after it had been thought to be extinct.

The tall western penstemon has been spotted in the metro area along both sides of the Columbia River ever since it was rediscovered in 2008. Urban and suburban growth continues to put this rare plant in danger throughout its range today.

Endangered, Threatened

The tall western penstemon is listed as 'threatened' with extinction all through the range by the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center and as 'endangered' in Washington as per the Washington Natural Heritage Program. However, these labels do not offer any formally recognized legal protection.

The southern population of bog turtles, the Pedernales River Springs salamander, and the ghost orchid are the other three species among the four that will start having their statuses reviewed.

The USFWS claimed that the petitions provide significant scientific or commercial evidence supporting the requested actions, KTVZ reports.

What Makes a Species Endangered?

According to National Geographic, an organism that faces extinction is referred to as an endangered species. The two main factors that cause a species to become endangered are habitat loss and genetic diversity loss.

The "Red List of Threatened Species" is maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The seriousness and specific root causes of an endangered species' threat are outlined in the Red List.

The seven conservation levels listed on the Red List are extinct, extinct in the wild, critically endangered, endangered, followed by vulnerable, near threatened, and least concerned. The two categories of "least concern" and "near-threatened" are used to group species that are not in danger of going extinct.

The range and habitat of a species, as well as its actual population, are taken into consideration when classifying it as endangered. Because of this, a species may be least endangered in one region and endangered in another.