Patrick Donnelly/Center for Biological Diversity / AP
This June 1, 2019, photo provided by the Center for Biological Diversity shows the rare desert wildflower Tiehm’s buckwheat in the Silver Peak Range about 120 miles southeast of Reno.
Thursday, April 22, 2021 | 11:05 a.m.
CARSON CITY — A U.S. District Court judge has ordered federal authorities to make a decision on listing a rare Nevada wildflower as an endangered species within 30 days.
Judge James C. Mahan ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine if the flower, Tiehm’s buckwheat, should be protected under the Endangered Species Act in response to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity.
The center filed the lawsuit after federal authorities did not meet legally required deadlines in response to a 2019 petition to protect the plant under the act.
An Australian mining company, Ioneer, wants to develop an open-pit lithium mine across the flower’s small native area: 10 acres of public land in rural Esmeralda County.
Environmentalist groups have argued that the mine would have a devastating impact on the plant population. Ioneer, meanwhile, has invested in research on expanding the flower’s range.
“We’re thrilled a federal judge agrees that Tiehm’s buckwheat is facing a dire emergency,” Patrick Donnelly, the center’s Nevada state director, said in a statement. “This is one of the most endangered plants in the United States.”
The plant “clearly qualifies” for protection under the Endangered Species Act, Naomi Fraga, a botanist who has worked closely with the Center for Biological Diversity on the issue, said in a statement.
The Center for Biological Diversity asserts the mining project, as proposed, would destroy 90% of the flower’s population.
But Ioneer is confident the mine and the flower can coexist, Bernard Rowe, the company’s managing director, said in a statement.
Rowe said that the ruling was not unexpected and that it “in no way dictates an outcome” of whether the plant will be listed as endangered.
Ioneer has worked closely with all parties to make sure decisions about the plant are “based on the best available science,” Rowe said.
“We are confident that the science strongly supports the coexistence of our vital lithium operation and Tiehm’s buckwheat,” he said.
The lawsuit, filed in September 2020, came after it was discovered that about half of the plant’s population was destroyed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management “strongly linked” the destruction to ground squirrels.
