U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Delist Texas Shrub
Posted in Delisting

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has announced that it will remove the Johnston’s frankenia (Frankenia johnstonii) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants under the Endangered Species Act.  Johnson frankenia is a perennial shrub endemic to Starr, Webb and Zapata Counties in Texas and the northeastern part of the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon, Coahuila and Tamaulipas.  The shrub may be found in very salty soils in open, rocky, gypseous hillsides or saline flats.

USFWS listed the species in 1984, when there were five known populations of this perennial shrub within the United States.  All of the documented United States populations occurred on private lands, encompassing a 35-miles radius.  Today, the total number of United States populations number in the high 60s, covering approximately 2,031 square miles.

USFWS attributes recovery primarily to the significant increase in the number of documented occurrences of the species and a shift in south Texas land management practices away from cattleranching and toward wildlife habitat enhancement and hunting as a result of fluctuating cattle markets and frequent droughts.

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  • Liz  Klebaner
    Partner

    Liz Klebaner advises private and public agency clients on a variety of complex land use and environmental matters, including California Environmental Quality Act, National Environmental Policy Act, California Coastal Act ...

Nossaman’s Endangered Species Law & Policy blog focuses on news, events, and policies affecting endangered species issues in California and throughout the United States. Topics include listing and critical habitat decisions, conservation and recovery planning, inter-agency consultation, and related developments in law, policy, and science. We also inform readers about regulatory and legislative developments, as well as key court decisions.

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