12:40 AM PST on Wednesday, February 11, 2004
By JENNIFER BOWLES / The Press-Enterprise
Federal wildlife officials said Tuesday they will consider placing a Mojave Desert herb on the nation's endangered species list, a move that could further complicate the expansion of the Army's tank training center.
Populations of the desert cymopterus, a member of the carrot family, have been found on land tagged for expansion of the National Training Center at Fort Irwin north of Barstow.
The planned expansion has been delayed for years because the land harbors the desert tortoise, a threatened species, and an endangered plant known as the Lane Mountain milk-vetch. Negotiations are underway to balance species protections with needs for expansion.
If the desert cymopterus eventually receives federal protection, the Army would have to take added measures to protect the plant on land where war games are simulated.
"We might have to take a few acres of habitat for the (cymopterus) and put it off limits and call it a mine field," said Mickey Quillman, natural and cultural resources manager at Fort Irwin. "There are a myriad of ways we can deal with it."
Responding to a lawsuit by environmental groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed the plant's existence might be threatened by habitat destruction, livestock grazing and a lack of conservation measures at Edwards Air Force Base. A majority of the plants have been found on the base, which straddles Los Angeles, Kern and San Bernardino counties.
A yearlong study will be launched to determine if the cymopterus is threatened enough to join California's other 290 animals and plants already protected under the Endangered Species Act, officials said.
"Now, we start taking a hard look at the data and what's going on with the plant and with the management of the habitat," said Judy Hohman, chief for the wildlife agency's Mojave and Great Basin desert division.
The California Native Plant Society and the Center For Biological Diversity in Idyllwild filed a lawsuit against the wildlife service in May after the agency failed to make a finding on the plant.
"It's found in such a limited range in the desert," said Ileene Anderson, a Southern California botanist and member of the native plant society. "And there's basically no protection for this plant and a suite of others that share the same habitat."
The decision to look at the plant's status demonstrates the importance of the Mojave, particularly the Superior Valley where the Army wants to expand into, environmentalists said.
Reach Jennifer Bowles at 909-368-9548 or jbowles@pe.com
http://www.pe.com/localnews/desertpass/sto...nt11.5706c.html
