Federal officials say they won't provide endangered species protections for a rare plant that lives mostly in northeastern Utah.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says environmental groups' petition to put the narrowleaf evening primrose on the endangered species list didn't provide enough information to warrant its listing.

The Denver-based Center for Native Ecosystems and the Colorado Native Plant Society sought protections for the plant primarily because of threats from livestock grazing.

The Fish and Wildlife Service says recent research indicates that grazing, in some areas, actually provides open areas of bare ground where the evening primrose thrives.

The plant grows primarily on federal land in northeastern Utah and private land in northwestern Colorado.