Contact: Denise Rowell, denise_rowell@fws.gov, 251-656-3490
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availability of the draft recovery plan for fleshy-fruit gladecress (Leavenworthia crassa), a plant endemic to cedar glade areas in north-central Alabama that has been significantly altered from their original condition. The plant was federally listed as endangered in 2014 and assigned a recovery priority number of 2, which indicates the species has a high recovery potential.
This draft plan includes specific criteria for determining when the fleshy-fruit gladecress should be considered for delisting and removed from the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Plants. It also lists site-specific actions that will be necessary to meet those criteria and estimates the time and costs required for implementing actions necessary to achieve recovery. The draft recovery plan for the plant is now available at the following website:
https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/1435
Recovery will require partnerships and collaboration among various stakeholders. In particular, conservation and management agreements with federal and state departments of transportation, local road departments, railroad authorities, and utility companies and authorities are needed to ensure protection and necessary management of populations within roadsides and rights-of-way. Collaboration among federal and state conservation agencies, non-governmental conservation organizations, and private landowners and land managers is needed to protect populations on private lands and manage habitat on conservation lands.
Recovery plans are unique to each species and serve as central organizing tools that provide important guidance on methods minimizing threats to listed species, such as restoring and acquiring habitat, conducting surveys, and monitoring populations. Recovery plans also identify measurable and objective criteria so progress can be tracked over time. These plans are guidance and not regulatory documents; no agency or entity is required by the Endangered Species Act to implement actions in a recovery plan.
For more information on the fleshy-fruit gladecress, visit the Service’s Species Profile below or contact Erin Lentz at Erin_Lentz@fws.gov.
https://www.fws.gov/species/fleshy-fruit-gladecress-leavenworthia-crassa
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is to work with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov. Connect with our Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/usfwssoutheast, follow our tweets at www.twitter.com/usfwssoutheast, watch our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/usfws and download photos from our Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwssoutheast.
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