Lawsuit Demands Protection for Rare Desert Wildflower in Water Crisis

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Rare desert wildflower with only 3 remaining populations faces extinction as groundwater levels plummet in Nevada and California.

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The Tecopa bird's beak grows exclusively in groundwater-fed alkali wetlands, making it extremely vulnerable to water depletion.

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A new lawsuit filed July 1 accuses the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of missing its September 2024 deadline to protect this endangered plant.

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Agricultural pumping for alfalfa farms and Nevada's largest dairy has caused water levels to drop dramatically where the wildflower grows.

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Mining companies have now claimed the entire northern population's habitat in Esmeralda County for lithium extraction.

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Residential development in Pahrump is depleting groundwater that feeds the plant's habitat in Tecopa, California.

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"The Tecopa bird's beak is uniquely vulnerable to extinction in the nation's driest state," says Patrick Donnelly of the Center for Biological Diversity.

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Botanist Peri Lee Pipkin, who extensively researched the plant for her master's degree, joined the lawsuit to protect these rare flowers.

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The federal agency previously found the plant "may qualify for protection" in October 2024, but failed to make the required 12-month finding.

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If successful, the lawsuit would force the federal agency to make a timely decision on protecting this sentinel species of desert wetland health.

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