EAFB MAY BE HABITAT DESERT PLANT ON EDWARDS AFB COULD BE RULED AS ENDANGERED.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - The federal government is studying whether a rare desert plant found mostly on Edwards Air Force Base should be put on the endangered species list.

Two conservation groups, the Center for Biological Diversity and the California Native Plant Society, are pushing federal officials to protect the desert cymopterus, saying development, cattle grazing and off-road vehicles are destroying the plant's habitat.

``The desert cymopterus absolutely warrants listing as an endangered species,'' said Daniel Patterson, an ecologist with the Center for Biological Diversity, which had sued the government over the issue. ``It should be protected by the law of the land.''

The two groups filed a petition to have the plant listed as endangered in 2002. They filed a lawsuit in 2003 alleging that the Bush administration failed to respond to their petition.

In a Feb. 10 notice in the Federal Register, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported it has examined the petition and decided to conduct a study into listing the plant as endangered.

``We find that the petition does present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing this species may be warranted,'' the notice said.

The desert cymopterus is a perennial herb in the carrot family. The plant grows to about 6 inches in height and has a dark-purple spherical flower.

The plant grows in loose sandy soils in Joshua tree woodland, saltbush scrub and Mojavean desert scrub communities. The plant can be found up-slope of dry lake beds.

About 90 percent of the known desert cymopterus plants are located on Edwards Air Force Base. A 1995 study found more than 14,000 of the plants on the base.

In their petition, the two conservation groups argue that the future of the plant populations on Edwards is in doubt because the Air Force has no conservation strategies for the plant.

While Edwards does not have measures strictly for the desert cymopterus, the plant is included as a sensitive species in the base's natural resources management plan, base officials said.

``We've done four different studies to help us effectively manage the desert cymopterus,'' Edwards environmental management spokesman Gary Hatch said.

In the past, the plant was found in an area ranging from Edwards Air Force Base to Victor Valley in San Bernardino County and northward to the Cuddeback Lake basin, which is northeast of California City.

Development in the Victor Valley area has destroyed about half of the known habitat, said Ileene Anderson, a botanist with the California Native Plant Society.

Anderson said she would like to see areas set aside to protect the plant. One good location would be in the area near the community of North Edwards, immediately north of the base, and around the Cuddeback basin.

``We want a couple of areas where they won't be disturbed,'' Anderson said.

Edwards does not allow grazing and it restricts off-road vehicles to designated areas. The harvesting of plants is limited to scientific studies, base officials said.

All Edwards projects are reviewed to minimize the impact to natural resources and when possible new construction is limited to areas that have already been disturbed, officials said.

The plant is also listed for protection under the draft version of the West Mojave Plan, a multicounty, multiagency planning document that covers most of the California desert.

Among the proposed protections in the draft West Mojave Plan is the creation of a 14,000-acre North Edwards Conservation Area, which would cover habitat of sensitive species, including the known desert cymopterus plants. Development would be limited in the area and any projects that do go forward would require botanical surveys to help avoid, to the maximum extent possible, disturbing sensitive plants.

Jim Skeen, [phone]

james.skeen(at)dailynews.com