Environmentalists are petitioning federal authorities to protect a rare yellow sunflower threatened by the millions of visitors who flock to Red Rock Canyon each year.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Save Red Rock last week asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the Red Rock sunflower for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The flower is found nowhere else but Southern Nevada, and conservationists warn that heavy foot traffic from Red Rock’s nearly 3 million annual visitors is putting the species at risk.
“These charmingly lopsided sunflowers are already incredibly rare, and without federal protection they could vanish from the face of the Earth,” Megan Ortiz, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “It’s lucky that the Red Rock sunflower grows on public lands safe from development, but they’re not protected from visitors. We need fast action to make sure this beautiful species doesn’t disappear on our watch.”
The Red Rock sunflower, known scientifically as the Helianthus devernii, was first detected and collected in 2007 by a botanist doing surveys in the Spring Mountains.
When late UNLV botanist Wesley Niles couldn’t identify the plant brought to him by the researcher, one of the collections was sent to Edward Schilling at the University of Tennessee, where he realized that it must be a new species, according to iNaturalist, an application on which citizen scientists can log different species.
A member of the sunflower family, the perennial Red Rock sunflower grows to be around 102 centimeters tall with slim green stalks, vibrant yellow petals and a bulbous golden center full of tiny florets that attract an array of pollinators.
Its population is concentrated at three small desert springs within the Calico Basin, one of the most popular “and degraded” spots in Red Rock Canyon, according to the petition.
Fewer than 1,000 of the plants remain in the wild, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit environmental organization that aims to protect endangered species and their habitats through science, policy, law and outreach.
The Red Rock sunflower was first described and published in 2021, then the Nevada Division of Natural Heritage submitted a petition to the Nevada Division of Forestry the following year urging that the plant be added to Nevada’s list of fully protected native flora.
In 2024, the Nevada Division of Forestry recognized the Red Rock sunflower as a Critically Endangered native plant species, but the petition argues that “theseprotections are insufficient to protect the species from the threats it faces.”
The Center for Biological Diversity said heavy visitor traffic in Red Rock Canyon has led to the creation of unofficial hiking trails, which cut through the sunflower’s habitat. Frequent compacting of soil by bikers, hikers and other visitors putting pressure on the dirt could be preventing seedlings from growing.
Horses and hikers have unintentionally introduced dozens of invasive plant species to the area, while threats like climate change and excessive groundwater pumping could eliminate the small patches of water the sunflower lives off.
Wild burros and a rise in wildfires each year could also pose a threat to the species, the Center for Biological Diversity and Save Red Rock added.
It’s why the two environmental organizations submitted the 36-page petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services last week.
“As an official conservation partner of Red Rock Canyon NCA, we at Save Red Rock are honored to partner with the Center for Biological Diversity in their efforts to protect the Red Rock Sunflower,” Michelle St. Angelo, executive director at Save Red Rock, said in a statement. “This endemic species, rare and delicate as it is, needs an army of advocates and stewards to ensure its long-term survival.”
In their petition, organizers wrote that the Bureau of Land Management — which operates the conservation area — needs additional resources to put up fencing around Red Rock sunflower populations.
About 55% of the flower’s habitat is on BLM-managed lands, while the other 45% of the habitat and majority of the plant’s population are on privately owned land within the conservation area, according to a 2024 presentation from Jamey McClinton, administrator of the Nevada Division of Natural Heritage.
The environmentalists believe that listing the flower under the Endangered Species Act and designating critical habitat “will provide the increased protections and funding which are so gravely needed to ensure the species’ survival.”
The Endangered Species Act was first enacted in 1973 to establish protections for fish, wildlife and plants listed as threatened or endangered. It allows species to be removed and added to the list of threatened and endangered species based on certain factors such as their population counts, and calls for the implementation of plans to help their recovery.
State and federal agencies, under the legislation, can work together and be approved for funding that supports conservation efforts, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“This is what the Endangered Species Act was created for, to give plants and animals a fighting chance,” Ortiz said.
Save Red Rock officials said getting the Red Rock sunflower listed for protection “is an incredibly long, complex and scientific process” involving coordination between botanists, conservationists, local municipalities, government agencies and the general public.
They encourage visitors of Red Rock to avoid disturbing the flower’s habitat by staying only on sanctioned trails in the area and raising awareness of this issue.
