WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is ready to take a wild plant off the Endangered List which was once thought ot be extinct. Tuns out running buffalo clover has made an amazing rebound in several mid-western states including West Virginia. The plant was believed to be extinct prior to 1983. However, it was discovered growing in West Virginia at that time and in 1987 was added to the endangered list. Now due to conservation efforts, it will soon be delisted completely.
“Running buffalo clover has recovered because we’ve worked closely with our partners to ensure the plant’s habitat is conserved while also searching for new populations,” said Service Acting Midwest Regional Director Charlie Wooley. “Our efforts have paid off, and we believe the future of this plant is secure.”
Publication of the Service’s proposal in the Federal Register on August 27, 2019, begins a 60-day comment period, during which the agency is seeking any new information about the species.
Once found in nine states, running buffalo clover was believed extinct prior to 1983, when one population was found in West Virginia. The Service listed running buffalo clover as endangered in 1987. Since then, additional populations have been discovered, and the plant is now found in 154 populations in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Of the known populations, 83 are on public lands or privately owned lands with conservation agreements.
Running buffalo clover is named for the stolons, or runners, that extend from the base of its stems. The plant requires periodic disturbance and somewhat open habitat, but it cannot tolerate full sun, full shade or severe disturbance. Historically, it was often found in the rich soils between open forests and prairies probably maintained by grazing herds of bison. Today it is associated with areas where mowing, cattle grazing, trampling, logging or other moderate ground disturbance occurs.