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Go DeeperThe Nature Conservancy in Utah |
Geological processes in southern Utah’s red-rock deserts have carved out some of the most striking landscapes in the country: spectacular sandstone arches, fins, buttes and canyons. This rugged landscape has also helped shape a number of stunning and rare plants adapted to the desert’s harsh conditions. With several of these species in sharp decline, The Nature Conservancy in 2007 kicked off new protection efforts across the state.
Dwarf bear poppy (Arctomecon humilis)
For the past few years, St. George, Utah, has been the epicenter of southwest Utah’s real estate boom. One casualty of this development has been the endangered dwarf bear poppy. But this flower received a new lease on life in the summer of 2007 when the Conservancy partnered with local and federal government agencies to create the White Dome Nature Preserve, protecting 55 acres of prime habitat for the plant.
Siler pincushion cactus (Pediocactus sileri)
The new White Dome preserve is also home to the rare Siler pincushion cactus. In the next few years, the Conservancy plans to expand the preserve to 800 acres to further protect the cactus, which is found only in the nearby vicinity.
Autumn buttercup (Ranunculus aestivalis)
Utah’s autumn buttercup first went “extinct” in 1974. Though well-adapted to the harsh heat of the Utah desert, the hardy little flower disappeared after much of its range was converted to pasture. (Though cows don’t graze on the plant, they do tend to trample it.) But the flower popped up again a decade after it went missing when a naturalist named Kathryn Mutz stumbled across a flourishing population near the small town of Panguitch.
The Conservancy purchased 44 acres to protect this last patch of plants in 1989, but the population continued to plummet from the 400 plants Mutz had counted to just eight. This time, extinction looked certain.
In 2005, however, researchers collected seeds from the remaining buttercups and shipped them to a lab in Cincinnati, Ohio, which grew more than 200 plants in vitro. In the spring of 2007, the seedlings were sent to the preserve and planted. They are thriving despite having faced Utah’s hottest summer on record. “We’ve only lost seven plants so far,” says Renée Van Buren, a botanist at Utah Valley State College. “We have a high expectation of success.”
—Curtis Runyan
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photos © Renee Van Buren (Dwarf bear poppy); © Elaine York/TNC (Siler pincushion cactus); © Charles Schelz (Autumn buttercup)
