It's good to finally experience a breath of fresh air amid the proliferation of terrible news reports in a seemingly endless cycle. One example is the conservation success story of the dwarf-flowered heartleaf, which was on the federal list of endangered and threatened plants.
In July, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the plant was removed from the list after a recovery from 24 known populations in 1989 to 119 populations this year, according to Queen City News.
The dwarf-flowered heartleaf now spans 13 counties in North and South Carolina, thanks to decades of collaborative efforts.
Speaking of collaboration, Duke Energy, Broad River Greenway, the Cowpens National Battlefield, The Nature Conservancy, and the Foothills Conservancy all played roles in returning the heartleaf to its former glory, per Queen City News.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 28 of the 119 known populations contain more than 1,000 plants.
However, there are still some areas of concern. For instance, delisting this plant could streamline development projects that previously required modifications.
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How effectively the delisting will streamline land use remains to be seen. While it's a boon to the environment in terms of celebration and proof of what collaborative efforts can achieve, it doesn't solve the overriding issues of land use unless local monitoring and protections remain.
Vigilance is as much of an ongoing effort as revitalization. That's not to say that cautious optimism shouldn't remain; however, there are at least 26 federally listed endangered or threatened plant species in North Carolina, and 21 in South Carolina.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists 1,678 in the U.S., and Earth.org estimates roughly 26,276 throughout the world. That's just plants, not including animals. It's fantastic to hear positive news on the dwarf-flowered heartleaf, but there's still a long way to go.
Fortunately, standard protocol indicates the heartleaf will remain monitored for the next five years, so we shall see how things proceed from here.
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In short, the struggle to preserve and revitalize endangered and threatened plant or animal species continues, and one success is not the end of this story.
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