U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Is Delisting Maguire Daisy
Over the last 25 years, federal agencies have worked to bring the plant's population from seven to 163,000.
Highlighting a 25-year conservation effort involving a number of federal agencies, the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife has announced that the Maguire daisy will be removed from the list of threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.
The population of the daisy was known to number seven plants when it was listed as endangered in 1985 but now numbers 163,000 plants within 10 populations in southeastern Utah’s Emery, Wayne, and Garfield counties. It is the 21st species to be delisted due to recovery.
“The delisting of the Maguire daisy shows that the Endangered Species Act is an effective tool not only to save species from the brink of extinction but also to recover them to healthy populations,” said Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Tom Strickland. “Working in partnership with other federal agencies, state and local governments, and other partners, we can ensure irreplaceable plants and animals such as the Maguire daisy and the habitat they depend upon are preserved for future generations.”
A member of the sunflower family, the Maguire daisy (Erigeron maguirei) is a perennial herb with dime-sized white or pink flowers. Since the plant was listed, federal land management agencies have worked collaboratively to ensure the long-term protection of the Maguire daisy and its habitat.
The best scientific information available indicates the Maguire daisy no longer meets the ESA definition of threatened or endangered. An endangered species is one considered in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A threatened species is one that is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.
Approximately 99 percent of Maguire daisies occur on federal lands, and now most of these lands have substantial protective measures in place.
The final Post-Delisting Monitoring Plan for this daisy calls for a minimum 10-year monitoring period. Monitoring would include the collection of information on population trends and potential threat factors (none of which are believed serious at this time). Should a decline be detected at any point, the Fish & Wildlife Service will work closely with its partners to determine what measures need to be implemented. Although not anticipated, if at any time during the monitoring program information indicates that protective status under the act should be reinstated, the agency can initiate listing procedures including, if appropriate, an emergency listing.
Other U.S. and U.S. territorial species that have, to date, recovered enough to be removed from listing under the ESA, and the dates of their delistings, are as follows:
- Brown pelican (Atlantic coast population 1985, rest of the range in 2009),
- Virginia northern flying squirrel (2008),
- Bald Eagle (2007),
- Eggert’s sunflower (2005),
- Tinian Monarch (2004),
- Columbian white-tailed deer (Douglas County Population, 2003),
- Hoover’s woolly-star (2003),
- Robbins’ cinquefoil (2002),
- Aleutian Canada goose (2001),
- American peregrine falcon (1999),
- eastern gray kangaroo (1995),
- western gray kangaroo (1995),
- red kangaroo (1995),
- Arctic peregrine falcon (1994),
- gray whale (eastern North Pacific (California) population, 1994),
- American alligator (1987),
- Palau ground dove (1985),
- Palau fantail flycatcher (1985), and
- the Palau owl (1985).
A copy of the final rule and other information about the Maguire daisy is available online or by contacting Utah Field Office at 801.975.3330. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 19.