The Fish and Wildlife Service is now ready to call the Lloyd’s mariposa cactus another Endangered Species Act success story.
Citing in part its work through “close partnerships” with state and local governments as well as private parties, the federal agency reported that its latest review found the desert plant no longer requires ESA protections. The agency has recommended that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum give a go-ahead to a formal delisting proposal.
“The degree of threat is now known to be less than when the cactus was listed,” the Fish and Wildlife Service reported, noting that “several large populations have recently been documented at protected sites.”
The Lloyd’s mariposa cactus inhabits parts of Brewster County in Texas, and Coahuila, Mexico, favoring elevations between about 2,100 to 3,800 feet. The Fish and Wildlife Service listed the cactus as a threatened species in 1979, with commercial harvesting described as the biggest threat to its survival.
