FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Roan Plateau Wildflower May Get Protection

Court Orders Federal Decision on Endangered Species Listing

A court-ordered deadline for a decision on Endangered Species Act listing for the rare DeBeque milkvetch, which grows only at the base of the Roan Plateau and outside of nearby DeBeque in western Colorado, could mean protection from oil and gas drilling for this imperiled wildflower.

A court-ordered deadline for a decision on Endangered Species Act listing for the rare DeBeque milkvetch, which grows only at the base of the Roan Plateau and outside of nearby DeBeque in western Colorado, could mean protection from oil and gas drilling for this imperiled wildflower.

“This unique wildflower’s habitat is being impacted by oil and gas development right now and more is on the way, so protections need to be put in place immediately,” said Dave Anderson of the Colorado Native Plant Society.

The court settlement signed at the end of last week requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to make an initial finding on the merits of protecting the DeBeque milkvetch under the Endangered Species Act by February 2007 and a final decision by next October.  The lawsuit was filed after the Service refused to respond to a petition to list the plant submitted by Center for Native Ecosystems and the Colorado Native Plant Society in 2005.

“The Service can’t sit on its hands any longer,” said Josh Pollock of Center for Native Ecosystems.  “Endangered Species Act protection is the best way to ensure that we don’t lose this rare native forever.”

The DeBeque milkvetch lives in only eight populations along the base of the Roan Plateau and in the vicinity of South Shale Ridge, just north of the town of DeBeque.  Both of these areas are at the epicenter of the explosion of oil and gas drilling in western Colorado.  At the same time, both areas have been proposed for permanent wilderness protection by local citizen groups.

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