Groups: US not doing enough to protect flower
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Environmental groups put the federal government on notice this week regarding the lack of a decision on the possible listing status of the rare and infamous ghost orchid.
“We are kind of in limbo right now and we hear they’re years off, which is especially concerning given the recent poaching event,” said Elise Bennett, with the Center for Biological Diversity. “The decision would be that the species doesn’t warrant (being added to the Endangered Species list), or it does warrant listing.”
Bennett said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was supposed to release its decision on any listing changes by Jan. 24. That deadline has passed, and Bennett said she’s heard the decision may not come until 2026.
Other groups say the Fish and Wildlife Service is behind on its duties when it comes to making a decision that could impact the future of this spectacular species.
“This is a most urgent matter that must not be pushed down the road,” said George Gann, with The Institute for Regional Conservation. “We are deeply concerned about the growing impacts of poaching on ghost orchids and other rare plants in Florida, which make heightened protections imperative. Poaching has been identified as a key threat to the ghost orchid at the Fakahatchee, in Big Cypress National Preserve, and throughout South Florida.”
The unique flower seems to hang in the air, as if suspended like a ghost, and it’s one of the most sought-after species for serious collectors.
The plant survives in places like the Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park and Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.
It’s been the stuff of legends as people have gone to great lengths to find and harvest this plant from the wild.
Just last year there was another ghost orchid poaching incident at the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve in Collier County, home to many of the estimated 1,500 or so plants remaining in the wild.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has said that it used 2022 to catch up on the review workload for years past, and that, going forward, it will review 310 species by 2027.
“We anticipate completing a 12month finding, stand-alone critical habitat rule, or court-ordered action (regarding those species),” a Fish and Wildlife Service reports says.
A spokesperson for the agency said it is doing the best it can when reviewing proposed species.
“This methodology is intended to allow us to address the outstanding workload of status reviews and accompanying 12-month findings strategically as our resources allow and to provide transparency to our partners and other stakeholders as to how we establish priorities within our workload into the future,” said Jennifer M. Koches, with the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Bennett said the species is in need of protections now as it faces threats from poaching, development and climate change.
“This flower is mysterious, and people want to see it,” Bennett said. “So we end up with people loving it to death if they collect it from the wild.”