Endangered Species
Endangered Species information below
Celebrate the 5th annual National Endangered Species Day--May 21, 2010.
Dear Garden Club Leader:
Did you make a new year's resolution to get in shape, get outdoors, connect with friends, or make a difference? You can do all that and more by joining the ENDANGERED SPECIES DAY Sunchaser Challenge!
As the sun rises on Saturday, May 22, 2010, thousands will line up across the nation, ready to embark on The Sunchaser Challenge - a new kind of adventure for every level of ability. This exciting and unique event is made up of four fun adventure races-one in each time zone of the continental U.S.- with one united aim - to raise awareness of the plight of species on the brink of extinction. YOU are invited to Join the Fun!
Anyone and everyone can take part -- it's all about having fun in the outdoors, getting close to nature by exploring the parks and countryside in our backyards -- and getting fit at the same time. Winners in several categories will receive eco-adventure vacations, luxury resort holidays, sports equipment and other prizes. There are also special promotions exclusively for Endangered Species Coalition members including the chance to win an eco-vacation of a lifetime. Sign up today!
The Endangered Species Coalition has teamed up with Wild Ones Promotions, a media and events production company, to host the Sunchaser Challenge. Participants are encouraged to help raise funds to support our work to protect endangered species and their habitats.
For more information about Endangered Species Day, visit www.EndangeredSpeciesDay.org
To register for the Sunchaser Challenge, visit www.sunchaserchallenge.com
We hope you'll join in to make this a family fun-filled and exciting event. Sincerely,
Michelle Mensinger Leda Huta Marion Hilliard
NGC Endangered Species Chairman Executive Director NGC Government Action Education Chairman
Endangered Species Coalition
ENDANGERED SPECIES
Submitted by Carol J. Smith, Chairman
Research of rare, threatened and endangered terrestrial plants in Maine can be a frustrating task. I found varying information in different web searches. For instance, I found two wonderful websites; one from the State of Maine and one from the United States Department of Agriculture. These lists are long but in comparing them, do not have all of the same information.
The 9-page list that the State of Maine publishes can be found at:
http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mnap/features/plantlist.htm
The USDA’s 10-page list can be found at:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/threat?statelist=states&stateSelect=US23
The New England Regional Garden Club lists only these plants as being endangered in New England:
Bulrush, Northeastern, ( Scirpus ancistrochaetus)
Cinquefoil, Robbins’, (Potentilla robbinsiana)
Gerardia, sandplain, (Agalinis acuta)
Lousewort, Furbish, (Pedicularis furbishiae)
Milk-vetch, Jesup’s, (Astragalus robbinsii jesupi)
If you check both the Maine list and the USDA list, only Furbish’s Lousewort (Pedicularis furbishiae) and Robbin’s Milk-vetch (Astragalus robbinsii jesupi) are on both lists.
I researched these two plants.
Furbish’s Lousewort Pedicularis furbishiae
This rare plant has been documented in 12 towns in Aroostook County. Furbish's lousewort is unique among louseworts because of its yellow flower with a 5-lobed calyx. It has fern-like leaves, occurring in a basal rosette and continuing up the stem. Flowers are cylindrical racemes of tubular yellow flowers, each flora about 1 cm long. The racemes elongate as the flowers develop into fruits. It flowers mid-July to August.
It is ranked in the State as imperiled in Maine because of rarity or because of other factors making it vulnerable to further decline. Rarity generally means it can only be found in 6-20 occurrences or few remaining individuals or acres. It is ranked the same globally because of the same indications.
The State of Maine considers this plant endangered.
Robbin’s (Jesup’s) Milk-Vetch Astragalus robbinsii jesupi
This plant, of the bean family fabaceae, has been found in 3 towns in Arrostook and Oxford Counties. Its habitat is local on dry calcareous ledge along rivers or on calcareous cliffs and talus in the mountains.
This plant is ranked as critically imperiled in Maine because of extreme rarity - five or fewer occurrences or very few remaining individuals or acres - or because some aspect of its biology makes it especially vulnerable to extirpation from the State of Maine. The State of Maine has special concern for this plant., Globally, it is considered threatened.
Of course one could say that any native plant is in peril because of non-native invasive plants in our State. Please refer to the page on Invasive Plants in Maine for more information on this subject. And always remember to leave a wildflower where you found it so that others may enjoy its beauty.
Photos courtesy of www.plants.usda.gov
