The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list as an endangered species a desert wildflower that’s only known to exist on a remote ridge in western Nevada where an Australian company plans a lithium mine at the center of a legal battle.
The agency issued a proposed rule Friday to protect Tiehm’s buckwheat under the Endangered Species Act subject to 60 days of public comment.
It says the plant is at risk of extinction due to destruction of its habitat from mineral exploration, off-highway vehicle use, livestock grazing, invasive plant species and herbivory.”
The agency says climate change may further exacerbate the threats.
The desert wildflower is known to only grow in patches over about two square miles in Rhyolite Ridge in Esmeralda County.
Environmentalists have said that the listing would prevent the mine's construction halfway between Reno and Las Vegas.
ioneer Ltd. insists the flower can co-exist with the proposed Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project and has factored the buckwheat flower into its construction and operation plans.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
