Eggert's sunflower prospers at Arnold AFB.

For more than seven years, the Eggert's sunflower (Helianthus eggertii) was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In 2005, however, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed this plant from the list, recognizing that it no longer needs protection under the Act. A cooperative management agreement now in place between the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee, and the Service deserves part of the credit for the species' recovery. The agreement requires continued management and protection for Eggert's sunflower at Arnold AFB, and will help to ensure that this wildflower remains an integral part of the base's ecosystem.

This species of sunflower, which has large yellow flowers and grows up to eight feet (2.4 meters) tall, is known to grow only in Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Eleven populations occur on base property. "Recovery and delisting of a federally listed species like the Eggert's sunflower is a first for the Air Force," says Richard McWhite, the AEDC natural resources planner. "Eggert's sunflower is an impressive member of the AEDC barrens plant community. Beginning in early August and lasting through mid-September, the bright yellow flowers of the Eggert's sunflower can be seen across the base. Aggregations, or groups, of Eggert's sunflower, while in flower, dominate a site and throw yellow blooms into the air."

When Eggert's sunflower was placed on the threatened species list, biologists knew of 34 population sites within 14 areas: one county in Alabama. five counties in Kentucky, and eight counties in Tennessee. Now, there are 73 known populations (seven that span three counties in Alabama; 18 that span nine counties in Kentucky; and 48 that span 15 counties in Tennessee). Of these, approximately 27 populations occur on public land or on land owned by The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Management plans provide for extended conservation of the species at all sites on federal lands and the TNC site. The number of secure populations exceeds the recovery goal of 20 such populations.

The Eggert's is more adaptable than scientists previously realized. It prefers rolling-to-flat uplands in full sun or partial shade. Often, it is found in open fields or thickets along wooded borders with other tall plants and small trees. It persists in, and may even colonize, roadsides, power line rights-of-way, or fields with suitable open habitat. One management tool for this species is the use of prescribed burning to open up densely vegetated habitat. Distinguishing characteristics of Eggert's sunflower include opposite, stalkless, lance-shaped leaves that are rough and waxy on the upper leaf surfaces and white on the undersides. The plant grows in large aggregations that arise from an underground stem that may have many above-ground stems.

The distribution of Eggert's sunflower correlates strongly with the presence of barrens habitat. In eastern Tennessee, the term "barrens" refers to the unique complex of grasslands and wetlands that once characterized the Highland Rim region. The gently rolling uplands, interspersed with wet flats and depressions, appear much like the familiar Midwestern tallgrass prairie-oak savanna landscape. The barrens were historically maintained by fire and grazing, and have declined with the loss of natural ecosystem processes.

"Restoration of barrens habitat at Arnold has provided the needed open areas and barrens for the Eggert's sunflower," says McWhite. "Two thousand acres of barrens habitat have been restored recently, creating additional habitat for Eggert's sunflower."

Genetic research initiated in 1999 enabled biologists to define what constitutes a functioning population of Eggert's sunflower. This research, combined with successful habitat restoration and a cooperative management agreement between AEDC and the Service, led to the species' delisting in 2005.

Now that Eggert's sunflower is secure, the Air Force is no longer required to engage in interagency consultations with the Service for this plant under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. Species management has become simplified by reducing the number of barrens habitat units under survey, and species monitoring is simplified and incorporated within the base's Barrens Ecological Monitoring Program. Land use restrictions for the benefit of Eggert's sunflower are no longer needed outside barrens restoration areas, and the species' annual management costs can be reduced by 40 percent due to a reduced need for monitoring and the consolidation of prescribed burn units. Recovery of Eggert's sunflower not only has conserved a colorful wildflower species but has produced several operational advantages for the Air Force.

Darbie Sizemore is a senior public affairs writer for Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA). The prime contractor for operations, maintenance and support, at Arnold Engineering Development Center. ATA is a joint venture between Jacobs Sverdrup, Computer Sciences Corporation, and General Physics.