RARE PLANTS AND THE FEDERAL ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT Rare platus evolved jn native communilies and can only be preserved in name communlttes.

Lani Stemmermann

As of July 1,1987, nineteen Hawaiian lant species had been recognized in the Federal Register as Endangered. an f several more soecies were in the final stages ofiisting. hhnut 350'r of the Candidate p l h specles for listing nationwide (about 74R species) are tiau3iian endemics. Photocrmhs of manv of these u,err ohlished bv Kimura and Naeata 11980) v \ 1 and ~Ghmer and ~u;tafsoo (1987). '

What are the causes for the rarity of Hawaiian plants? Often rarity can be attributed to wides~read habitat destruction imoosed uoon Hawai'i's hiehlv - , endenuc flora. 1%; current agents for habitat dkstruiibn are grain& brow\ing and rooting animal,; alien weeds that displace native plants; encroaching urbanization; and fire. Some plants are endangered because their pollinators are threatened. Others, such as Kohia (in the hibiscus or cotton family), a red-flowered tree with traditional uses, may have been over- harvested (Rock 1974). Many of the Candidate Endangered species are pre- sumed to have been widelv distributed in the oast hut are more limited now.

~~ ~~

The natural distribution oiothcrs has always been more narrowly defined. Mnct conservation biolopists today understand that rare species of plants

and animals are not all that we shouldstrive to conserve. Wiihout habhats ~

these eritlues cannot survive. hct"ally, somebidogists have argued that the recognition of rare species detrxts from a p ~ r o ~ r i a t c consewation. Once rare specres are reco$nizid, it may be tem tingio direct efforts and money at these svrnptoms of major habitat losses, rat ! er than at prevention of t h e w of these symptoms. The symptoms (rare s ecies) are readily recognizable entities. Conversely, their degraded hapitats and the causes of degeneration are not so easily visualized.

One of the commonlv cited definitions of a species is "a naturallv occur- r~ng population reprodu&ively isolated from other spccles. This suggests that s m e $ nccd to reproduce and need a natural habitat. Efforts directed toward tk pr&ervation of only a few museum pieces, as in a zoological or hotanical earden. or even in situ7(in natural habiiat) resewa at ion of Gmnants of a .. once more abundant in nature: &mot be considered efiect~ve species conservation lmause these efforts do not uwally provide for preser. . - vation of a habitat or of a re~roductive oooulation.

What good, then, i, i t to'speak of c&erving rare species? The value of focusingon rare species is that species are the hasic unm of biological class~ficatwn and are readily recognizable. They are h-ndles' to gah . They

can evoke an emotional association in a larger segment of society than can a habitat. If vou auestion whether svecies. as reoresented hv the individual plants, cankvokk an emotional response, just openthe of Sohmer and Gustafson's (1987) recent book, Plants and Flowers of Hawai'i. As another example, the "silversword" (A?proxiphium spp.) means something to a lot of people, but "subalpine shrub vegetation," in which it is found, is less glamorous, harder to visualize, and less familiar. Similarly, it is easier to deal with the legal rights of a defined entity than with something conceptually more abstract. . ~ ~ - ~ ~

when numerous Endangered or Candi.lm T:ndangered ipecies are found in proximity to each other i t is evident ?hat the S I I C in whish ~hev occur ic wdrthy of tieing considered for preservation. Two major veget&on types that have been especially diminished by human activities in Hawai'i are dry forests and coastal communities (see Cuddihy, thisvolume). These are also the habitats in which numerous Endangered plants, both Candidate and officially listed, are found (Table 1). The Endangered Species Act provides officially listed Endangered species with legal protection. If acted on, this legislation also provides for the protection of other species and their habitats.

Table 1. Endangered Hawaiian plants in chronological order of listing*

Endangered plant/ (Common Name) I-labit'* Habitat

Vicia ntenziesii (Hawaiian vetch)

Kokia cookei (Cooke's koki'a)

Paninrm canen' (Caner's panicgrass)

Bidens nmmta (Cuneate bidens) \

Montane Y rain forest

Montane ha dry forest

Montane Y dry forest

Dry scrub, 5 drv forest

t Dry forest

Coastal veg. an consolidated

s limestone

Dry scrub, h diffs

Original Distribution

Hawai'i

Hawai'i

Hawai'i

Hawai'i

Molaka'i

O'ahu

O'ahu

O'ahu

Table 1. conlinucd.

Endangered plant/ Original (Common Name) Habit*' Habiraf Distribution

Sehiedea odamanris (Diamcnd Head schiedca)

Kokio dr)lno&ides (Koki'o)

W'u, Hawaiian gardenia)

A'gyloxl~Iti~rn~ smdwieeme var. sondwicense

('Ahinahha, Mauna Kca silversword)

, , var. ia,zoiertse

('Iliahi, Lana'i sandalwwd)

Hibiscadelplt~~r disforrs (Kaua'i hau kuahiwi)

Abrrlilor~ memiesii (Ko'oloa 'ula)

Mewncuro,~ kawieme (Uhiuhi)

Dry scrub, cliffs

Dry scrub

Dry forest

Dry forest

Coastal veg. on consolidaced limestone

Alpine scrub forest

Dry and mesic farcst

Mesic forcst

Dry scrub

Dry and mcsic forest

Consolidated sand dunes

O'ahu

Maui

Hawai'i

O'ahu, Moloka'i, Lana'i, Maui, Hawai'i

O'ahu

Kaua'i

O'ahu, Maui, Lana'i, Hawai'i

Kaua'i, O'ahu, Maui, Hawai'i

Hawaiian Islands

* Largely from Herbst (1987). '* Habit: h-herb, generally less than 20 in. (50 on) tall; s-shrub, generally 1.6-16 ft

(05-Sm) tall; t-tree, generally taller Lhan 16 ft (5 m); w i n e or liana. Character combinations reflect intermediate habit.

FEDERAL STATUS OF HAWAIIAN PLANTS

In 1969, Congress passed the Endangered Species Conservation Act. This legislation provided for the designation of Endangered _animal species. In 1973 the Endangered S ecies Act was strengthened and amended to provide for the designation of d' ndangered p!m species. At that time the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution was directed to prepare a report on Endangered

species and to recommend necessary conservation F.R. Fosherg and D. Herhst (1975), through

published a list of rare Hawaiian lants (The list had originated decades earlier from assorted notes kept by Ebsbeig on the rarer species found in Hawai'i.) It was this list that formed the basis for the Hawa~ian entries into the first national list of plants pro osed as Endangered and Threatened (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 19%).

The Listing Process Plants can be listed in two principal ways: &&t, individuals can petition

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to list a particular specles; or &,the USFWS can gradually complete the listin of proposed candidates. When the proposed list of Hawaiian plants was initial 7 y presented, USFWS

etitioned to list all the included plants as Endangered in a sin le action {hat petition was denied on the argument that there was insuftcient infir- nation available to support such a ruling. Documentation for individual species and listing on a species by species basis has subsequently been required.

P ~ O D O S ~ ~ Candidate soecies have been evaluated as to the aooro~riate- ness of I ' i s r ~ n ~ :d y:~ded i n a scale of 1, 2,013. Category 1 inciu'des'taxa for which I S I - \ V S currenth has sufficient information regarding thcir vulncr- ability to support the appropriateness of listin Endangered or Threatened; they are not yet listed due to the Category 2 taxa are those which are believed but for which information regarding their biological vulnerability is not known or on file with USFWS. Cateeorv 3 taxa are not beine considered for list- ing because they are probahlqexhnct or ar t more coGmon than previously thought. Also, some Categow 3 taxa are no longer considered valid by

ka lghly 75Q oi the Hawaiian entries of yqosc , l rn.lm;erc!l plants havc been considered Category 1. The USF\ S I nd .~n~ .~wt l Spec~c\ Bntani\t in llawai'i SOIIP~II thc ooinions of local naturalisti md h&tn~ , t \ to tlrioritize - the listing efforts. ~ t a & repom containing iniorrn:,rim on P o I ) ~ ~ ~ ; i ~ o n \ :LC>

and distribution were prepared according to the priorir:c\ 01 tlicw 1,1c.:tl

experts. Once the staius ieports had beein prepa;ed, packets were submitted to USFWS for review. Proposed rulings for inclusion in the List of Endan- gered and Threatened Plants are ubhrhed in the Federal Register, and

A ! . . public comments ate solicited. ter a rev~ew of available information, in- cluding any solicited comments from landowners OF others, the USFWS can take final action to list a species. That final ruling is also publidicd in the Federal Register.

Listing is a lengthy process, and recently efforts have been made to streamline the rocedure. Thq listing process until now has largely occurred in ~ a s b i n ~ t o n g . ~ . , but apparently the USFWS is about to decentralize some activities. Listing for Hawa~ian species will soon be completed by the

Portland Regional Office of USFWS. The US. Fish and Wildlife Service will probably also begin to list groups of species together (for example, all those m a particular ecosystem), rather than continumg to list them one at a tme.

Cost of Listing I t is estintat& that the average cost of listing an Endangered species is

ShO,OOO(J. Pave, USFWS, personal communication). This estimate is bated on the 13tio of annual ~erson-hours to the number of suecies listed. The &t er listed species bas perh~psas high as 6500,000during period5 whcn the I!e~eral admir~istr~tion :,ppcured to be actively oppobing the Endangered Snecies Proarani. Usine the lower estimate leven thoueh several of the li:,waii;in &a were 11srid during an unfa\orhle periodiur hslhg), over one million dollars has been spent simplv on Federal recognition of the r a r i ~ . . of a handful of Hawaiian planis.

LEGAL PROTECTION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES

Olf~cially listed raxa are afforded certam Federal protcct~on. I t IS illcaal to trdnsoort anv Threatened or Endangered mecies acrosr stxte lines. Feaerally funded proiects are jeopardized if lkted species are harassed. However, it i s m Federally ille a1 to kill an Endangered or Candidate plant species in your bacbard. Nor, ! or that matter, is it ~llegal to cause ma'or disruption to its habitat. Further, critical habitat (the term for officia / ly recognized habitat important for survival of a listed species) has not been established for most rare Hawaiian plants.

The laws of the State of Hawaii are more stringent than Federal regula- tions. According to Hawai'i Revised Statute 19SD-4 it is illegal to export an Endangered species from the State; and to take, possess, process, sell or of ? er to sell, deliver, carry, transport, or ship any Endangered species. It is illegal to take or harass any Endangered species on State or private roperty. Though legislation is provided to enforce the law, to date there

Rave been no ~rosecutions, even thoueh there have been violations. Just becaise 3 specles is listed as i'ndsngercd, its realvery is not

assured. Rcalisticallv. how does listing prn!ect I law:~iian plantr? Li\ting serves the purpoc 01 fostering ~ L : ! J ~ I C auarcne\s of [lie rhrzars lo tlic Httwaiim biota, and to particular species. Uotonists themqelve.; mav he more sensit;\,c to die 111 effeas of inappropriate c ~ l l c c ~ i q . Ho\\ever, prohabl!. no suecies are hctter off now as a ronsewence of their listine. Some r h n s have &en fenced. but man!. uerc f e n 4 p;ior ro lisung or wo~qd have h c n fencekl rcgardlcss of listed status. Somc species have been studied, but were of inlere\r anwwv. Sevr.r:J t u a are actunlly norsc. off now ~lian ~hev aere hefo:c listing, due to factors unrelated to their official status.

RESEARCH, MANAGEMENT, AND EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

Research and Management We need to discover how to better protect rare plants and their

commumtles. First, however, there is a need to know the threats. When we recogtllze potentla1 threats, such as fire or grazing, measures can be devised to reduce their impacts. This often req~tires tho~~ghtful, tailor-made, and

well-researched solutions. Sometimes threats are not obvious. Even when they are known, treating the problems may not be technically feasible. For example, Medeiros et a[. (1986) have noted the threats to the pollinators of the obligately outcrossing Haleakala silverswords (Argyroxiphium sandwicense) by invading Argentine ants (Indomyma humilk). The solution is to prevent ants from colonizmg areas where silverswords grow, but that may be difficult. Usually, retaining the intactness of communities is the surest wav to ensure survival of rare plants within them.

Adaces to the effect that it is oftkn easier to keen somethino from hreak- ~- ~~r ..~ .........o.;....-.--. ing thanyo fix it once it is broken hold true in biolog~cal conservation. Man- agers have limited funds. Some research is therefore also needed to wide tfie rnanaeer regardine attemots at habitat rehabilitation. For those c~ecies

should be considered functionally extinct. Land managers have worked with the concept of preserving endangered

species for sufficient time to recognize the limitations of preserving single species. There is now widely accepted appreciation of holistic management approaches. The recognition of the hab~tat as the management unit has been championed by the The Nature Conservancy, the National Park Service, and the US . Fish and Wildlife Service. The specific mandate of the State of Hawai'i Natural Area Reserves Svstem is to facilitate nreservation of intact

sound. Manaeers andireserve desieners should seek tobrovide for both

Educational Needs

nowhere eke in the world. 3. Other rare plants were once much more widely distributed and have be-

come limited bv habitat loss and communitv disturbances. These include

pollinators (birds, moths, hies, and so forth)

4. We cannot rely on botanical gardens to save species since o the r members o f their communities may be required for their survival.

5 . Rare plants evolved in native communities a n d can only be preserved in native communities. P lan t and animal communities are more t h a n just t h e sum o f their parts.

Why save !he jungle?--Come with ~JI observant eye and the question will answeritself (Richards 1970).

Important References

Cuddihy, L.W. [this volume] Vegctafion zones of the Hawaiian Islands. Fosberg, F.R., and D.R. Herbst. 1975. Rare and endangered species of Hawaiian vascular

plants. Allerlorzio 1:l-72. Herbot, D.R. 1987. Status of Endangered Hawaiian Plants. Howoiion Botanical Sociery

Ncwslctter 26:44-45. Kimura, B.Y., and KM. Nagata. 1980. Hawaii's Vani.~I~i~,ingFlom. Thc Oriental Publ. Co.,

Honolulu. Medeirm, A.C., L.L. Loope, and F.R. Cole. 19%. Distribution of ants and their effects on

Dept., Univ. Hawaii, ~onoluiu. Richards, P.W. 1970. 7he fife of rhefitngk. McGraw-Hill, New York. Rock, J.F. 1974. nte Indigenom Trees oJlhe Hawaiiorz Islmtds. Pacific Tropical

Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii, and Charles E. Tuttle Co., Rulland, Vermont, and Tokyo, Japan. (Reprint of 1913 edition.)

Sohmer, S.H., and R. Gustafson. 1987. Plants and Flawrs of Howai'i. Univ. Haxaii Press, Honolulu.

US. Fish and Wildlih Senice. 1976. Endangered and threatened spceies--plants. Federal Re&w 41:24524-24572.

Wagner, W.L., D.R. Herbst, and RSN. Yee. 1985. Status of the native flowcrine nlants of -. the Hawaiian Islands. Pp. 23-74 IN C.P. Stone and I.M. Scott (eds.), Hawoi'i's Terrcs1nol Ecosysiems: Pre~e~~ai io~z a11d Ahogement. Univ. Hawaii Prcss for Univ. Hawaii Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, Honolulu.