FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Protection Sought for Rare Wildflower Native to San Rafael Swell

Today Center for Native Ecosystems and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Salt Lake City, Utah challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s failure to respond to a petition filed by the groups seeking to protect the Mussentuchit gilia (pronounced Musn't-touch-it) under the Endangered Species Act.

Central Utah's scenic San Rafael Swell has been the site of dramatic increases in off-road vehicle use, with thousands of all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes leaving a spider web of scars across the landscape. This damage, combined with overgrazing by cattle, mineral development, and heightened interest in oil and gas exploration and drilling, has made the San Rafael Swell the focus of increased attention by the public, conservation groups, and federal land managers concerned about the ecological health of this unique area.

The latest sign that the health of the San Rafael’s fragile environment is threatened is the risk that encroaching threats such as off-road vehicle use and oil and gas drilling pose to a native wildflower, the Mussentuchit gilia (pronounced Musn’t-touch-it). Named after the Mussentuchit desert north of Capitol Reef National Park, it is a strikingly beautiful wildflower with pale blue tube shaped flowers. The plant is known to exist in only 21 locations (less than 2,500 plants) along the western slope of the San Rafael Swell.

Today Center for Native Ecosystems and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Salt Lake City, Utah challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s failure to respond to a petition filed by the groups seeking to protect the rare wildflower under the Endangered Species Act. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Center for Native Ecosystems, and Utah Native Plant Society filed a petition two years ago today – May 19, 2003 – to protect the species from escalating threats such as off-road vehicle damage and oil and gas exploration and drilling.

"The Department of the Interior's failure to do what the law requires – evaluate and respond to our petition to protect this wildflower in a timely fashion – is plainly irresponsible." said SUWA attorney Stephen Bloch. "Instead of acting immediately to protect this rare wildflower, the Service has sat on its hands."

"The Department of the Interior is so busy rushing to approve oil and gas drilling permits that it is refusing to conserve native wildflowers like the Mussentuchit gilia," said Erin Robertson, staff biologist for Center for Native Ecosystems. "More than two years later they still haven’t done anything. We had no choice but to ask the courts for help."

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