NPCC News: Article on Unequal Protection for Plants Features Interview with NPCC Director

Native Plant Conservation Campaign News: New England Wildflower Society Journal Article features interview with NPCC Director on Unequal Protection for Plants

The cover story of the Fall/Winter Issue of Native Plant News - the Journal of the NPCC Affiliate New England Wildflower Society – is Double Standard: How the Endangered Species Act Shortchanges Plants by Jane Roy Brown. The article discusses the 2^nd class conservation citizen status of plants under the federal Endangered Species Act (FESA). It explains how the policy is both outdated and counterproductive, given scientific understanding of the role of plants in sustaining life on earth.

The article includes an interview with NPCC Director Dr. Emily B. Roberson about the Campaign’s groundbreaking Equal Protection for Plants Project. Roberson and other conservation scientists and advocates also discuss the politics, history, funding, and future of plant conservation under the FESA.

‘making the case to devote scant resources to plant protection is tough, partly “because plants are not causing the biggest political headaches. The top ten or fifteen species don’t usually include plants, and the portion of expenditures across all endangered species is low for both plants and invertebrates.”’ – Former Fish and Wildlife Service Botanist Loyal Mehrhoff

The NPCC continues to fight for equal funding, staffing and legal protections for plants. In these difficult times, we are also defending the protections and programs that are already in place.