Happy anniversary to the Endangered Species Act!
BLM public lands offer some of the best opportunities for the recovery of rare or listed plant and animal species.
Species are added to the ESA list when their population is in trouble. Later, they can be removed if the population bounces back.
We’ve had a few species have come off the list in the Pacific Northwest in recent years.
A few months ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared Bradshaw’s lomatium (Lomatium bradshawii) as a recovered species after 31 years on the list!
Bradshaw’s lomatium, as found in BLM's Long Tom Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Mackenzie Cowan, BLM.
Bradshaw's lomatium is a small yellow flower and its distribution is now limited to small patches along the Willamette Valley, near the Puget Sound, and in southwest Washington. Some of these small patches are found growing on BLM OR/WA public lands.
In 2020, the Borax Lake chub (Gila boraxobius) was declared as recovered after 40 years on the list. The Borax Lake chub exists solely in Borax Lake on land owned by the Nature Conservancy. About 600 acres of public land managed by BLM forms the Borax Lake ACEC serving as a protection area around the private lands. This tiny and resilient fish evolved to withstand harsh living conditions in the remnant desert waters of the Great Basin and can survive surface water temperatures up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit! Population monitoring will continue for several years in coordination with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
In 2019, the Foskett Speckled Dace (Rhinichthys osculus ssp.) was also declared as recovered. This small-bodied minnow was listed as threatened in 1985. To help protect this unique fish, BLM acquired the 160-acre parcel of land containing the springs where it lives in 1987.
These success stories are thanks to the partnerships between BLM OR/WA and other federal, state, and local agencies!
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