Sunday, April 27, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.
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I am a botanist who has served on the Nevada Rare Plant Workshop that recommended the Las Vegas buckwheat for listing as a critically endangered plant in the state of Nevada.
The Las Vegas buckwheat is a natural treasure unique to the Las Vegas Valley and is very near extinction. It deserves state and federal protection.
The Las Vegas buckwheat has been published as a separate variety by a senior authority on the species and is known to be genetically distinct from other Eriogonum corymbosum found elsewhere in the world. This plant should be a source of pride for Las Vegans.
The battle between developers and rare and indigenous species in the Las Vegas Valley is ongoing and probably will end only when all the rare plants and animals are gone and the valley is filled with houses and businesses.
Developers have more political clout and money than botanists and environmentalists. Developers have more to gain by the plant’s not being listed than the rest of us gain by its going extinct. I would rather see a field of these beautiful plants than another Wal-Mart any day.
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