The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced recently that it has approved a revised recovery plan for the聽sentry milk-vetch, an endangered plant聽found only on the South Rim and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
The overall goal of the recovery plan is to recover the species so it no longer needs protections under the Endangered Species Act.
The sentry milk-vetch was originally listed as endangered in 1990 under the ESA, and the USFWS finalized the first recovery plan for the species in 2006. Since then, updated knowledge about the plant and recovery efforts necessitated recovery plan revisions.
The perennial herb develops into flat, small mats in pockets of shallow soil within Kaibab limestone, the uppermost rock layer of the Grand Canyon. Its purple flowers, approximately the size of a pencil eraser, commonly attract several kinds of mason bees and other small pollinators.
The recovery strategy focuses on ensuring and maintaining resiliency in populations on both the North and the South rims. Recovery objectives include improving the understanding of threats to the species, identifying additional threats, implementing conservation measures to improve resiliency and maintaining resilient populations. The USFWS will work with the National Park Service, nongovernmental organizations, academia and other conservation partners to implement the recovery plan.
Recovery plans are not regulatory documents, and implementation actions are not required by the ESA. Instead, recovery plans serve as road maps with specific management actions to foster cooperation in conservation for listed species and their ecosystems.
The final recovery plan is available on .