Saving the poppies: Researchers make strides in preserving endangered plant

Daniela Mohor

Friday, Oct. 26, 2001 | 3:59 a.m.

For years the Las Vegas bearpoppy, an endangered yellow flower with leaves that resemble bear paws, has been a source of conflict between environmentalists and developers.

But now things could change.

After years of unsuccessful attempts, a group of researchers from the Las Vegas Springs Preserve -- a cultural, environmental and educational center that will open to the public in 2005 -- started rescuing the flower in a literal way: It moved plants that would otherwise be plowed over.

"This is very encouraging for future removal efforts in areas planned for development," said Russ Harrison, an environmental planner at the preserve. "We help the developers fulfill their removal requirement, and they help us providing a great opportunity to research replanting techniques."

Often called the flagship of Southern Nevada's endangered species, the Las Vegas bearpoppy is an uncommon plant that grows only in the Las Vegas Valley. It germinates exclusively on gypsum soil and doesn't live very long.

The bearpoppy became even rarer in the past decade as it lost terrain to urban sprawl. A 1996 report by the Nevada Natural Heritage showed that more than half of the bearpoppy populations have disappeared or are at risk because of urban growth.

State and county regulations are now in place to protect the flower. Clark County recently fenced off three distinct populations, including one at the preserve, for conservation.

The Nevada Division of Forestry, on the other hand, requires contractors to negotiate mitigation plans with them. To obtain a permit of construction on land where bearpoppies grow, developers must come up with a conservation plan, such as allowing researchers to collect seeds or topsoil from the site.

"We try to alleviate the impact as much as possible," said John Jones, who works for the state Division of Forestry. "If there is a need to disturb the plants, we try to benefit from the loss of this plant by learning from it."

The preserve's project to salvage the flowers was part of such a mitigation plan.

To be able to expand, the North Las Vegas Airport agreed last year to allow ecologists from the preserve to remove plants from the plot of land slated for development and to research relocation techniques.

From the 25 bearpoppies pulled out from the North Las Vegas site, a few died almost immediately. But 70 percent of the plants bloomed, flowered and produced seeds.

It was an unprecedented achievement, according to Von Winkel, an ecologist at the preserve.

"People have tried salvaging them for several years, but they didn't take enough soil or were not careful enough, so they ended up breaking the root," he said. "It's a thrill to know that we've done something never done before."

The plant's root is so deep and fragile, Winkel explained, that it can be broken with a simple finger tap.

To avoid killing the plants during the relocation, the preserve team used three different methods of transplanting: tree spades, a backhoe and steel cylinders. The purpose, Winkel said, was to remove a large quantity of soil around the plant to make sure that the root, which can be as much as 6 feet long, would be safe. All methods were successful.

The success, Winkel said, is only the beginning.

Although transplanting is a viable option, he explained, researchers believe that future studies should focus on propagating the plant.

Each plant produces thousands of seeds, Winkel said. It would, therefore, be easier to salvage large populations if ecologists could grow the plants from seeds.

"In another mitigation plan in the future, we could just collect the seeds and establish populations of poppies where they can be protected," he said. "We don't have to just rush and get the plants. There are other ways to do this."

Winkel hopes that a $50,000 grant the preserve recently received from Clark County will allow the group to meet that goal.

"It's a beautiful plant, very unique," Winkel said. "As a living organism, it has some rights."