U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Plan for the Pitcher’s Thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) PITCHER'S THISTLE ( Cirsium pitcheri) RECOVERY PLAN Prepared by The Pitcher's Thistle Recovery Team for Region 3 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fort Snelling, Minnesota PITCHER’S THISTLE (Cirsium pitcheri) RECOVERY TEAM Noel B. Pavlovic, Leader U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division Porter, Indiana Marlin L. Bowles The Morton Arboretum Lisle, Illinois Susan R. Crispin Montana Natural Heritage Program Helena, Montana Thomas C. Gibson University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin Kim D. Herman Michigan Department of Natural Resources Escanaba, Michigan Robert T. Kavetsky U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service East Lansing, Michigan A. Kathryn McEachern U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division Ventura, California Michael R. Penskar Michigan Natural Features Inventory Lansing, Michigan ii DISCLAIMER Recovery Plans delineate reasonable actions which are believed to be required to recover and/or protect listed species. Plans are published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, sometimes prepared with the assistance of recovery teams, contractors, State agencies, and others. Objectives will be attained and any necessary funds made available subject to budgetary and other constraints affecting the parties involved, as well as the need to address other priorities. Recovery Plans do not necessarily represent the views nor the official positions or approval of any individuals or agencies involved in the plan formulation, other than the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They represent the official position of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service only after they have been signed by the Regional Director as approved. Approved Recovery Plans are subject to modification as dictated by new findings, changes in species status, and the completion of recovery tasks. Literature citation: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2002. Pitcher’s Thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) Recovery Plan. Fort Snelling, Minnesota. vii + 92 pp. Additional copies may be purchased from: Fish and Wildlife Reference Service 5430 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 110 Bethesda, Maryland 20814-2158 800-582-3421 or 301-492-6403 Fax: 301-564-4059 Email: [email protected] http://fa.r9.fws.gov/r9fwrs/ TTY users may contact the Fish and Wildlife Reference Service through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339 The fee varies according to the number of pages of the plan. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The recovery team thanks the following individuals for their contributions to this plan. Candice Stewart, Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin, prepared the cover art and figures 1, 2, and 3. Mary Regan, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, provided consultation for figure design and drafts. Phyllis Higman, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, provided updated Michigan occurrence information. Current Wisconsin data was provided by Darcy Kind, Landowner Contact Specialist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Information and data regarding the flowerhead weevil was provided by Dr. Svata Louda, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Jeannette Bowles, U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, East Lansing, Michigan, assisted with word processing. Final editing and word processing were completed by Mike DeCapita and Kate Lederle. iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Current Status: Pitcher’s thistle is listed as threatened by State and Federal governments. There are 173 known occurrences found in Michigan (90%), Indiana (5%) and Wisconsin (5%). Pitcher’s thistle needs open Great Lakes sand dune habitat subject to natural disturbance processes. Its survival is threatened by shoreline development, dune stabilization, recreation, and invasive non-native plants and insects. Habitat Requirements: Pitcher’s thistle is endemic to the unforested dune systems of the western Great Lakes and requires active sand dune processes to maintain its early successional habitat. The highest ranked occurrences are on large, intact, active dunes. Pitcher’s thistle is vulnerable to habitat loss by human development, construction, recreation, and by erosion when lake levels are high. Recovery Objective: Delisting. Recovery Strategy: Protect and manage occurrences and habitat. Recovery Criteria: Delisting can occur when: 1) the essential habitat associated with a total of 115 priority occurrences representing each biogeographic region and dune type is protected and managed under a management plan for each management unit; 2) regular field surveys to verify occurrences and record new occurrences have been established; 3) landowner contacts have been initiated and protection has been investigated for the remaining (rank<BC) public and private occurrences; 4) monitoring of known sites shows a stable or increasing trend toward recovery, and that protective plans are being implemented; 5) restoration of two occurrences from among historical sites where sufficient habitat remains in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and southern Lower Michigan has been completed, and 6) research necessary to protect, manage and restore Pitcher’s thistle has been conducted. Actions Needed: 1. Protect and manage known occurrences and essential habitat. 1. Establish and conduct regular field surveys to verify known and record new occurrences. 3. Inform the public, recreationists, public land managers and private landowners. 4. Monitor occurrences for stable or increasing trends and implementation of protective plans. 5. Restore Pitcher’s thistle populations on two appropriate sites within its historical range. 6. Conduct research necessary for protection, management and restoration. Estimated Cost of Recovery ($ 000's) Year Task 1 Task2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5 Task 6 Total 2003 113 26 26 78 92 164 499 2004 132 26 26 78 99 196 557 2005 132 26 26 78 99 189 550 2006 108 26 26 78 92 189 519 2007 108 26 26 78 92 189 519 2008 108 26 26 78 20 65 323 2009 108 26 26 78 20 65 323 2010 108 26 26 78 0 0 238 2011 108 26 26 78 0 0 238 2012 108 26 26 78 0 0 238 2013 108 26 26 78 0 0 238 2014 108 26 26 78 0 0 238 Total 1,349 312 312 936 514 1,057 4,480 Date of Recovery: Delisting should be initiated in 2014 if recovery criteria are met. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DISCLAIMER ......................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................ iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................... vii LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................ vii I. Introduction ..........................................................1 A. Description ....................................................1 B. Taxonomy and Genetics ..........................................1 C. Distribution ...................................................4 1. Canada ..................................................6 2. United States .............................................6 D. Habitat and Ecosystem ..........................................23 E. Life History and Ecology ........................................27 F. Threats ......................................................35 G. Conservation Measures .........................................40 H. Strategy of Recovery ...........................................43 II. Recovery ...........................................................45 A. Objective and Criteria ..........................................45 B. Step-Down Outline .............................................55 C. Narrative .....................................................57 D. Literature Cited ...............................................70 III. Implementation Schedule .............................................78 IV. Appendices ........................................................82 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Cirsium pitcheri (Eaton) Torrey & Gray ..............................2 Figure 2. Distribution of Cirsium pitcheri in the United States. ....................5 Figure 3. Generalized dune landscape providing Cirsium pitcheri habitat ...........24 Figure 4. Cirsium pitcheri dune landscape habitat types ........................26 Figure 5. Metapopulation model for conservation of species .....................34 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. The distribution of Cirsium pitcheri in Ontario, Canada ..................7 Table 2. Summary of Cirsium pitcheri occurrences in the United States. ............8 Table 3. The distribution of Cirsium pitcheri in Michigan. ......................10 Table 4. The distribution of Cirsium pitcheri in Wisconsin. .....................20 Table 5. The distribution of Cirsium pitcheri in Indiana. ........................21 Table 6. Herbarium information for extirpated Illinois Cirsium pitcheri collections. ..22 Table 7. Recommended protection strategies for each occurrence of Cirsium pitcheri. ...............................................................47 Table 8. Implementation schedule for the Cirsium pitcheri recovery plan. ..........79 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A. Common habitat and locations of plant species associated with Cirsium pitcheri .........................................................83 Appendix B. The NatureServe Element Global Ranking Criteria for Cirsium pitcheri ...............................................................85 Appendix C. Cirsium pitcheri Size Classes ..................................86 Appendix D. Explanation of Protection