Web story: Center for Biological Diversity seeks Endangered Species Act protections for two Northwest plants 

Transcript:

Reno Probert: There's a new petition to add two Northwest wildflowers to the Endangered Species List. N-W-P-B's Rachel Sun has more.


[nat sound bed: crickets, birds]


Rachel Sun: If you've ever hiked in native Palouse or Camas prairies, you may have spotted wildflowers with bright yellow blooms -- and those MIGHT be rough goldenweed or Palouse goldenweed.


Now, the Center for Biological Diversity is petitioning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to add them to the Endangered Species List. 


That protection would mean an added layer of consideration when things like public land use or road projects come up. Gwendolyn McManus (Mick-MAN-us), a staff scientist at the Center, says right now, the timeline for a species to be added to the list is over a decade.


Gwendolyn McManus: "Just because, you know, Fish and Wildlife Service has lost a lot of funding and a lot of the staff that they need to actually do their jobs."


Rachel Sun: One thing everyone can do? Clean your gear before you hike to avoid spreading invasive plants.


Reporting near Moscow, Idaho, I'm Rachel Sun.