Every happy anniversary story begins with flowers, and so does this one.
The Endangered Species Act turns 50 years old this year, and the South Sound has something to celebrate it with. Golden paintbrush, a rare prairie flower, was taken off the Endangered Species list Thursday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The foot-high flower that looks like a collection of fat yellow brushes has been on the list since 1997. Now, thanks to habitat conservation and management, the flower has rebounded from just a few thousand plants to hundreds of thousands.
The flower, which ranges from Tacoma south to Eugene, Oregon, had only 10 populations consisting of fewer than 20,000 plants when it was put on the list. Today, it's rebounded to over 325,000 plants at 48 locations, according to Fish and Wildlife.
"It takes a village to bring a species back from the brink, and the recovery of this plant would not have been possible without the amazing dedication of so many partners out on the prairie," Hugh Morrison, Fish and Wildlife's Pacific regional director, said in an announcement Thursday.
Threatened species
Habitat loss, fire suppression and prairie conversion for agriculture and urban development all led to decreasing numbers of golden paintbrush, according to Fish and Wildlife. Re-introductions of the plant and habitat restoration are helping it bounce back.
The Endangered Species Act was signed into law in 1973. Fish and Wildlife said more than 99 percent of the species that have been listed on it still live. More than 50 species, like golden paintbrush, have been de-listed. Another 60 species have been down-listed from endangered to threatened.
For the next five years, Fish and Wildlife biologists will monitor golden paintbrush populations to ensure the species continues to thrive.
Where to see it
Golden paintbrush flowers from April to late June. Individual plants live five to seven years. Its leaves are a favorite dining spot for Taylor's checkerspot butterflies.
The plant prefers the open prairies left behind by Ice Age glaciers. It doesn't tolerate shade and thrives after wildfires have cleared out taller shrubs and grasses.
