Endangered sunflower’s status may be changed
Published 12:00 am Friday, April 16, 2004
Friday, April 16, 2004
A flower found in Mammoth Cave and a few other sites in Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama may no longer be classified as endangered. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to remove Eggerts sunflower from its listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act because recovery efforts have led to new populations being identified and others being secured. The plant was listed as threatened in 1997.The Eggerts sunflower grows well in barren habitat with little moisture and shallow soil, Mammoth Cave botanist Michele Webber said. Its really kind of an edge-type species, she said. It grows near the edge of woods and when it does grow, there are usually several plants in one area. There are 13 populations of the flower scattered in the park. The sunflower was also found in the original environmental impact study conducted for the Kentucky TriModal Transpark, said Jim Vance, president of the Inter-modal Transportation Authority. That study included about 6,000 acres. The growth of plants is along a railway right-of-way east of the transpark site. That area probably wont be a part of the transpark, Vance said. Its a good distance away, he said. The plant reproduces well when the ground around it is disturbed. The parks recent controlled burn initiative has helped the flower flourish, Webber said. The plant has large yellow flowers and grows up to eight feet tall. It persists in, and may even invade, roadsides, power line rights-of-way, or fields that have suitable open habitats. Once it was recognized as a distinct species, it was recognized as being very rare, Webber said. There are several roadside populations of the plant, including at the entrance of the Great Onyx Job Corps Center on Ollie Ridge Road. Unlike the common sunflower an annual grown for ornamental uses, seed production and oil production Eggerts sunflower is a perennial that is not grown commercially. Eggerts seeds have recently been collected by the USDA to determine if they contain genetic traits that can be used to improve seed and oil production in commercially grown sunflowers. If Eggerts sunflower is removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants, Federal agencies will no longer need to consult with the service to ensure any action they authorize, fund or carry out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of this species. The service is working with the states where the sunflower occurs to develop cooperative management agreements so that the species continues to be monitored and protected once it is removed from the Endangered Species list. If it is removed, the park will continue to protect the habitat rather than protecting a specific species, Webber said. As part of the renovation of the entrance road to the park, the park staff removed the flower from the Chaumont Road area in the fall and replanted them throughout the park. Thats been real successful, Webber said. The plants that were transplanted have thrived, and in the area the plants were taken from, theyve come back even thicker than before. It really likes the disturbance, Webber said. Public hearings on this proposal will be held if requested. The Service will consider comments and information received by June 3.Written comments and information on this proposal should be mailed, faxed, or delivered in person to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Attn.: Timothy Merritt, 446 Neal St., Cookeville, TN 38501, faxed to (931) 528-7075 or e-mailed to timothy_merritt@fws.gov. Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700