An Endangered Sunflower

Saving Beauty: The Story of an Endangered Sunflower

By Daniela Roth and Christina M. Selby

On a sunny afternoon in the late summer of 1992, former New Mexico state botanist Bob Sivinski was driving back from Roswell, where he had been working. He saw a billboard for the “world famous” Blue Hole spring and stopped to admire the crystalline blue waters and scuba divers. As he was pulling out of the parking lot, he looked across the street and noticed a huge wetland, or ciénega, full of sunflowers turning acres golden. Bob could spot the Pecos sunflower (Helianthus paradoxus) from miles away because of its distinctive yellow color, noticeably lighter than that of common sunflowers, and its unique ciénega habitat; he immediately realized he was in the presence of one of New Mexico’s rarest plants.This large population of Pecos sunflowers growing in the immediate vicinity of the City of Santa Rosa, in Guadalupe County, was a new discovery. The species’ entire existence is limited to seven widely spaced populations in west-central and eastern New Mexico and west Texas. These plants occur only on wet, alkaline soils in spring seeps and wet meadows and along stream courses and pond margins. This wetland habitat is itself endangered and disappearing.Known as the City of Natural Lakes, Santa Rosa is situated inside a six-mile sink, one of the most unusual geological features of any city in New Mexico. A sink is a topographic depression formed when groundwater dissolves underlying limestone and/or gypsum bedrock. The groundwater migrates to the surface as seeps, causing most of the soil to be saturated near the surface and/or root zone of plants and forming small lakes and extensive wetland habitats. The Santa Rosa area contains many of the last and best natural wetlands in New Mexico.Incompatible land uses, habitat degradation and loss, and groundwater pumping pose significant threats to the Pecos sunflower. It was listed as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1999 and as endangered in the State of New Mexico. Bob soon discovered other rare and endangered plants throughout the ciénegas surrounding the Santa Rosa area, including the Wright’s marsh thistle (Cirsium wrightii) and Great Plains ladies’ tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum), all located on private and city-owned lands.Through much negotiation and perseverance, Bob was instrumental in the purchase and protection of the 116-acre Blue Hole Ciénega Nature Preserve by the New Mexico State Forestry Division. To this day it is the only piece of land the division owns and manages solely for the protection of Pecos sunflowers and other rare wetland plants.In 2012 Daniela Roth took over as state botanist and has made many strides in managing the preserve to restore wetland function and enhance habitat for the sunflowers by researching best management practices and engaging the community. Management strategies have included fencing to exclude livestock, multiple prescribed fires, and the complete removal of Russian olives, tamarisk, and other invasive trees, which pose a significant threat to wetlands.Soon the city, county, and other neighboring land owners caught on to the benefits of restoring native wetlands. The Santa Rosa Schools have engaged students in monitoring the wetlands, and the local newspaper took notice and regularly reported on the status of Pecos sunflowers. In 2018 the city established a 15-acre conservation easement to protect a large population of sunflowers for a minimum of 25 years on city-owned lands.Close coordination with a variety of stakeholders has led to comprehensive, landscape-wide restoration efforts for all wetlands in the vicinity of Santa Rosa, with special emphasis on enhancing habitat for Pecos sunflowers. Partners include the Guadalupe Soil and Water Conservation District, the New Mexico Forestry Division, the City of Santa Rosa, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Santa Rosa Consolidated Schools, Wetwater Environmental Services, private landowners, various artists, the New Mexico Native Plant Society, the New Mexico Department of Transportation, and the Guadalupe County Communicator.This kind of coordinated action is key to conservation in the 21st century. Plants on the federal endangered species list don’t benefit from the same protections as animals, especially on non-federal lands. Hence plants rely primarily on goodwill and voluntary actions for protection. Santa Rosa’s persistent community efforts provide a stellar example of rare-plant conservation in New Mexico.That’s why Conservation Productions, a Santa Fe–based media company focused on storytelling to amplify conservation campaigns, is making a film, photo exhibit, and social media campaign about the endangered Pecos sunflower and its disappearing wetland habitat.Documentaries can change the world. They evoke emotion, care, and action. Saving Beauty: The Story of an Endangered Sunflowerrecounts the efforts of New Mexico’s state botanists and partners to save the rare Pecos sunflower in its wetland habitat and how the people of Santa Rosa learned to value this endangered species in their backyard. The story is about more than one plant and one habitat; native plants throughout New Mexico need a poster child to focus the public’s attention on how protecting plants benefits us all.To learn more about the project and support the work we’re doing, visit the Saving Beauty website. Daniela Roth is New Mexico’s state botanist. Christina Selby is a conservation writer and photographer.