A case for conserving imperiled plants by ecological area

Abstract

Imperiled plants are sometimes protected as endangered or threatened species at state and national levels. However, politically based geographic units fall short for conservation purposes. For example, only 19 percent of plant species considered imperiled in the San Juan region of Colorado and New Mexico appeared on recent state or federal endangered species lists. Conservation of imperiled plants by ecological area is proposed. This would help (a) safeguard plant populations of evolutionary significance; (b) maintain the integrity of biotic communities; (c) draw attention to imperiled regional endemics, which often fail to make government endangered species lists; and (d) preserve wild plant populations locally for conservation education and for medicinal, aesthetic, scientific, and other cultural reasons. A focus on ecological areas would broaden modem conservation practice, making it better able to protect and restore the natural world.

Parent Publication

• Southwestern rare and endangered plants: Proceedings of the Third Conference

Citation

Povilitis, Tony. 2001. A case for conserving imperiled plants by ecological area. In: Maschinski, Joyce; Holter, Louella, tech. eds. Southwestern rare and endangered plants: Proceedings of the Third Conference; 2000 September 25-28; Flagstaff, AZ. Proceedings RMRS-P-23. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 9-12.