The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday proposed listing the Graham’s beardtongue, a perennial plant found in Colorado and Utah, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
The federal agency also is proposing to designate 3,058 acres as critical habitat for the plant in Rio Blanco County and two counties in Utah.
More than 70 percent of the plant’s population occurs on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management, federal officials said.
“The service is proposing only those areas considered to contribute to the conservation of the Graham’s beardtongue,” said Mitch King, the wildlife service’s acting regional director.
In 2002, several Colorado and Utah environmental groups petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service to grant federal protection for the plant.
Federal wildlife officials say threats to the plant may include oil and gas exploration and off-road-vehicle use.
