The Kremmling Osterhout milkvetch (also known as Osterhout milkvetch) is a non-woody (herbaceous) plant species in the pea family (Fabaceae). It has many slender and erect stems that grow to, on average, 12 to 40 inches tall. Its leaves are made up of many narrow leaflets– each up to 1 1/2 inches long. In summer, the Kremmling Osterhout milkvetch’s creamy white flowers bloom, hanging along the end of each flowering stalk. In fall, its long, green fruits often turn maroon red when mature. Though distinctive, the Kremmling Osterhout milkvetch may be confused with other milkvetch species in the area. The Kremmling Osterhout milkvetch was first collected by George Osterhout, a Colorado botanist, in 1905. The species is known only to a 15 mile range near the town of Kremmling in Middle Park of northern Colorado, a high elevation sagebrush valley surrounded by ranges of the Rocky Mountains. The Kremmling Osterhout milkvetch grows in five scattered populations on barren shale soils. These soils are rich in selenium, which the Kremmling Osterhout milkvetch concentrates in its tissues— giving the plants a distinctive garlic-like odor. The Kremmling Osterhout milkvetch is threatened by off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation, road and utility construction and maintenance, mining, oil and gas exploration, concentrated livestock use, land development, and other land uses occurring within the species habitat. Some plants were lost when Wolford Dam was constructed. Additional threats include climate change and nonnative invasive plants (weeds). Due to its limited range and few numbers, its vulnerability to habitat modification and loss is high. Therefore, protection of existing populations is vital to the survival of the species.