. 1 OC t,(.3 t r a-k. PETITION TO LIST THE HUACHUCA WATER UMBELL Lilaeopsis schaffneriana subspecies recurva AS A FEDERALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES May 31, 1993 GREATER GILA BIODIVERSITY PROJECT ENDANGERED SPECIES SERIES NO. 4 May 31, 1993 Mr. Bruce Babbitt Secretary of the Interior Office of the Secretary Department of the Interior 18th and "C" Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240 Kieran Suckling, the Greater Gila Biodiversity Project, the Southwest Center For Biological Diversity, and the Biodiversity Legal Foundation, hereby formally petition to list the Huachuca Water Umbell (Lilaeopsis schaffneriana subspecies recurva) as endangered pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. (hereafter referred to as "ESA"). This petition is filed under 5 U.S.C. 553(e) and 50 CFR 424.14 (1990), which grants interested parties the right to petition for issue of a rule from the Assistant Secretary of the Interior. Petitioners also request that Critical Habitat be designated concurrent with the listing, pursuant to 50 CFR 424.12, and pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act (5 U.S.C. 553). Petitioners understand that this petition action sets in motion a specific process placing definite response requirements on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and very specific time constraints upon those responses. Petitioners Kieran Suckling is a Doctoral Candidate, endangered species field researcher, and conservationist. He serves as the Director of the Greater Gila Biodiversity Project and has extensively studied the status and natural history of Lilaeopsis schaffneriana subspecies recurva. The Greater Gila Biodiversity Project is a non-profit public interest organization created to protect imperiled species and habitats within the Greater Gila Ecosystem of southwest New Mexico and eastern Arizona. Through public education, Endangered Species Act petitions, appeals and litigation, it seeks to restore and protect the integrity of the Greater Gila Ecosystem. The Southwest Center For Biological Diversity is a non- profit public interest organization dedicated to protecting the diverse life forms of the American Southwest and northern Mexico. The Biodiversity Legal Foundation is a non-profit public interest organization dedicated to the preservation of all native wild plants and animals, communities of species, and naturally functioning ecosystems in this country. Through visionary educational, administrative, and legal actions, the ELF endeavors to encourage improved public attitudes and policies for all living things. 3 ABSTRACT Li1aeopsis,1 a semi-aquatic umbell, is an obligate of cienega habitats in southeast Arizona and adjacent Mexico. Cienegas are one of the most endangered habitats in North America- overgrazing, water depletion and dam construction have nearly erased them from the Southwestern landscape. As they have dwindled, species such as Lilaeopsis have been driven to extinction's edge. Only 10 small populations now exist- three in Mexico and seven in the United States. Three of the U.S. and all of the Mexican populations are currently unstable. TAXONOMY SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lilaeopsis schaffneriana subspecies recurva belongs to the Umbelliferae (Parsley) family, and Apiaceae subfamily. The taxon was first described as a distinct species, Lilaeopsis recurva, by Hill (1927) based on collections from 1881 along the Santa Cruz River near Tucson. Affolter (1985) subsequently reduced L. recurva to a subspecies of L. schaffneriana. Currently, the taxon appears to be well defined and is not the subject of taxonomic debate. COMMON NAME: Huachuca Water Umbell, Cienega False-rush. DESCRI PT ION TECHNICAL: "A perennial herb with leaves borne individually or in clusters along horizontal rhizomes or in clusters at the apex of vertical rhizome branches, terete or elliptical in cross section, linear or tapering continually from the base, 2.5-33.0 (-50) cm long, 0.5-5.5 mm broad, 6-13 (-18) septate, narrowly rounded at the base into a scarious sheath 0.3-2.3 cm long. Rhizomes 0.6-4.5 mm in diameter. (Note: Leaf dimensions are for both subspecies combined; subspecies recurva tends to have shorter, narrower leaves.) Peduncles 2-55 mm long, shorter than the leaves. Involucral bracts 0.5-3.5 mm long. Umbels 3-10 flowered; pedicels 1-13 mm long. Petals maroon-tinted. Fruits are generally globose or ellipsoid, occasionally ovoid to obovoid, 1.6-2.3 mm long, 1.2-1.9 mm broad, with spongy cells present in all 5 ribs of the mericarp, the lateral ribs rounded, the dorsal and intermediate ribs rounded or broadly triangular in cross section; vittae 6-8, 2-4 on the commissure. Chromosome number is unknown" (Warren et al. 1991). 1 For the purposes of this petition, and following common usage, Lilaeopsis schaffneriana subspecies recurva will be ref ered to simply as Lilaeopsis. 4 NON-TECHNICAL: The Huachuca Water Umbell is a semi-aquatic perennial. Its hollow, pale-green leaves are generally 1 to 3 mm in diameter. They have septa at irregular intervals and vary in length from 3 to 20 cm depending upon microhabitat conditions. Plants rooted near water have short leaves, while those submerged in water have long leaves which are supported by the water. The leaves grow from creeping, generally white, rhizomes. Rhizomes are very shallow and typically grow in dense mats along the water's edge. Individual plants are often difficult to distinguish. Three to ten flowered umbels rise from root nodes. The inflorescence penducles also vary in length depending upon microhabitat conditions but are always shorter than the leaves. They range from 1 to 7 cm. The flowers have maroon-tinted petals and are 1 to 2 mm wide; the globose, slightly oval fruits are 1.5 to 2 mm in diameter (See Figure 1). GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION All current and historic populations fall within southeast Arizona and adjacent Sonora Mexico. The subspecies formerly occurred from Tucson south to Cananea, and from Sonoita Creek east to Rio San Bernadino (see Figure 2). A second subspecies, L. schaffneriana subspecies schaffneriana, occurs disjunctly on the central plateau of central and southern Mexico (see Figure 3). Affolter (1985) has suggested that further research may prove the subspecies not to be disjunct. Warren et al. (1991), however, point out that the two subspecies occur on opposite sides of the continental divide, effectively isolating their main dispersal mechanisms- water flow. Surveys farther south and east in Mexico along the Rio Sonora and Cajon Bonito, have not been successful. NATURAL HISTORY PHENOLOGY: Affolter (1985) has observed flowering in June and August, and fruiting in May, July, August and early September. Warren et al. (1991) have observed abundant flowering in April and low frequency flowering in almost every month between March and October. Other members of the Lilaeopsis genus may be self- pollinators (Affolter 1985). Warren et al. (1991) have observed recurva seed germination under laboratory conditions but also assert that vegetative reproduction via rhizomatous spreading and dispersal is important. HABITAT: A semi-aquatic plant, recurva grows in wet soil on the edges and within shallow, slow moving, perennial waters; usually between 4,000 and 6,500 feet. Most known populations are in mid-elevation cienega habitats- "true" cienegas according to 5 Figure 1. Lilaeopsis schaffneriana: a, habit; b, flower; c, mature fruit of subspecies shaffneriana, lateral view; d, mature fruit of subspecies recurva, lateral view (from Affolter 1985). - 6 Figure 2. Current and historical Lilaeobsis schaffneriana supspecies recurva populations. Triangles indicate presence, squares indicate extirpation. Figure based upon map in Warren et al. (1991). Numbers correspond to population descriptions found in Appendix A. Sent° Ceuz River <C) P z "C° ................................................................................. Co. rri • Coenis. 42(' 4 OS:‘ , 40 , .., /- oP —= %. K : C , . > ..s. x_. z I › :— 0 .., > ,s ?) % ). r, 1, ../ --• '..... c) 2 , 0 ?" - . 0 CD ...4. (f) 0 CO rn --------------- ------------ > `• o t• I 0 o *--. > r- > V) > > > Rio Son Btrnordino > > > ARIZONA ----------- NEW MEXICO 7 Figure 3. Distribution of L. schaffneriana subspecies in North America (from Affolter 1985). • ./ /eQ 9 6 W • 2 6 N Kllom•lors 200 400 L. schaffneriana o subsp recurva • subsp schaffneriana 8 the typology of Hendrickson and Minckley (1984). A few populations, however, are found in low and high elevation "cienegas". Warren et al. (1991) believe the subspecies' affinity for mid-elevation cienegas is primarily a function of its response to flooding. Lilaeopsis requires an intermediate level of periodic flooding to reduce competition, but can not tolerate frequent or intense flooding. High elevation "cienegas" are typically in steep drainages, while low elevation "cienegas" drain large amounts of water. Both situations are susceptible to frequent, scouring floods. Mid-elevation cienegas, on the other hand, tend to be in flatter valleys or wide canyons where flooding is not so frequent or intense. Both Warren et al. (1991) and Hendrickson and Minckley (1985) note that while flooding is a natural part of Southwestern hydrology, frequent, catastrophic floods are very often human induced. Lilaeopsis's affinity for mid-elevation cienegas, therefore, may not have been as pronounced prior to the introduction of cattle anl large dams to North America. Lilaeopsis has been extirpated from three of four sites below 3,000 ft. The remaining site is very small and has suffered declines since 1981 (Warren et al. 1991). Only two sites have been known to occur above 6,000 ft, both currently occupied, both in situations where geologic features have created gentle gradients. One former and four currently occupied sites are at mid- elevations (3,000 to 6,000 ft.). Lilaeopsis's stability and abundance has been correlated with those mid-elevation sites which are less susceptible to frequent, intense flooding (Warren et al. 1991). SIGNIFICANCE Lilaeopsis is "a member of the cienega community adapted to periodic, low- intensity disturbance. The health of Lilaeopsis populations may serve as an indicator of habitat conditions for other sensitive species which occupy the same community.