Making a recovery: Golden paintbrush removed from endangered species list

Abigail Landwehr, Salem Statesman Journal
·1 min read
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took golden paintbrush off the endangered species list this week.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took golden paintbrush off the endangered species list this week.

After more than 25 years on the endangered species list, the golden paintbrush has made a comeback.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took the flowery yellow plant off the list this week, adding that the herb made its recovery in the Pacific Northwest. The golden paintbrush’s home stretches from the Willamette Valley to southwestern British Columbia, Canada.

Named after its bright yellow flowers, the golden paintbrush is classified as a short-lived perennial herb that can grow up to a foot high. White sticky hairs cover the plant.

A mix of invasive species, fire suppression and recreational picking shrunk the plant’s population in Oregon. It was first added to the endangered species list in 1997, being found at only 10 known sites in Washington and British Columbia.

Through replanting efforts, that number has risen to 48. In Oregon and the Willamette Valley, 26 sites are known after teams worked to maintain the paintbrush’s prairie and grasslands habitats.

“We almost lost this beautiful flower, but thanks to the Endangered Species Act it’s now abundant,” Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a news release.

Other threatened species could also benefit from an increase in golden paintbrush, like Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly.
Other threatened species could also benefit from an increase in golden paintbrush, like Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly.

Work to bring back the golden paintbrush could also help other endangered species in the long run. In the release, the Center for Biological Diversity added other threatened groups who could see support from the flowery plant include:

  • Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly

  • The Willamette daisy

  • Kincaid’s lupine

  • Nelson’s checker-mallow

  • Three subspecies of Mazama pocket gopher

Abigail Landwehr is an outdoors journalism intern for the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at alandwehr@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Golden paintbrush removed from endangered species list