Native Plant Society Monthly Meeting

Tuesday, August 20: Ahsa Jensen, Grand Canyon’s Federally-Listed Endangered Plant, Sentry Milk- Vetch

Grand Canyon has one federally-listed endangered plant, the sentry milkvetch (Astragalus cremnophylax var. cremnophylax). The sentry milk-vetch is endemic to Grand Canyon and is only found in soil pockets located in the Kaibab Limestone, on the edge of the canyon. With limited populations, the park’s Science and Resource Management Division has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Arboretum at Flagstaff, and the Grand Canyon Conservancy to implement a recovery plan that includes reintroduction sites to remove the plant from the federal list of Threatened and Endangered Species.
Ahsa Jensen is Grand Canyon’s Native Plant Nursery Manager and has worked with the propagation, outplanting, and monitoring of the sentry milk-vetch for the last six years. She will present on the park’s reintroduction efforts for sites on the south rim of Grand Canyon.