Rare Plant Conservation and Recovery
KNP has the only plant conservation program in Kentucky state government, the Rare Plant Conservation Section. Since 1985, KNP has had a cooperative agreement with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to serve as the official partner for monitoring and managing federally listed and at-risk plants under section 6 of the Endangered Species Act. Currently, KNP works on 13 federally listed and at-risk plants through this agreement. We work closely with USFWS to meet recovery goals and implement conservation action that truly protects those species and prevents the need for federal listing. We also coordinate work with a regional group, the Southeastern Plant Conservation Alliance, to compile accurate information on rare plants, set priorities, and implement conservation actions on species that are candidates for listing in order to prevent federal listing with the ESA. Our monitoring, management, and conservation of federally listed and at risk plants and their habitats has resulted in the recovery of several plants and their habitats, thus reducing the need for Federal Listing.
In addition to federal listing, KNP is responsible for implementing Kentucky's Rare Plant Recognition Act and maintaining our state list of threatened and endangered species. With close to 2,900 species of native and non-native plants in Kentucky, assessing their status is challenging. To fulfill our mandate, we revise our rare plant list every 4 years. We collaborate with partners across the state, including universities, state and federal agencies, land trusts, and nonprofits to help in the assessments of rare plants. To access these lists, photographs, distribution maps, herbarium specimens, and other associated information, visit the Kentucky Plant and Natural Community Database or visit the Kentucky Biological Assessment Tool (KY-BAT).
In 2022, we revised Kentucky's rare plant list. Currently, we track 198 state endangered plants and 128 state threatened plants, along with detailed information on an additional 235 plants of conservation concern, including special concern, watch list, historic, and extirpated plants.