U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Removes Native Carolina Plant from Endangered Species List Due to Recovery
Asheville, NC - After decades of partnership-driven recovery efforts in North and South Carolina, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is removing the dwarf-flowered heartleaf from the federal list of endangered and threatened plants.
When the plant was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1989, there were 24 known populations distributed across eight North Carolina counties. Since then, documented populations have increased to 119 across 10 North Carolina and three South Carolina counties. Of those 119 populations, 28 contain more than 1,000 plants.
A key recovery partner is Duke Energy, which conserves tens of thousands of plants along the Broad River. Additional protected populations occur at Cowpens National Battlefield and Broad River Greenway. Land trusts such as Foothills Conservancy, Catawba Lands Conservancy and The Nature Conservancy also play vital roles. The North Carolina Department of Transportation secured land for conservation, including areas now part of the Broad River Greenway.
As its name implies, the plant has heart-shaped leaves that are dark green and grow from a buried stem. It rarely grows more than 6 inches tall. To ensure its continued success, the Service developed a post-delisting monitoring plan to track the plant鈥檚 status for at least five years after delisting, helping detect any changes in population size or new threats to its long-term viability.
The proposed and final rules, post-delisting monitoring plan and other documents are available on by searching docket number 贵奥厂鈥揜4鈥揈厂鈥�2019鈥�0081 or the Service鈥檚
. -FWS-
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working 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/southeast.
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