It's listed as an endangered species, and the only place it exists on the planet is around the southwestern Utah city of St. George. That's where measures have been taken to protect it and the threatened Siler's pincushion cactus.
“You can't transplant it [dwarf bear-poppy] or even grow it in a greenhouse,” said Elaine York, west desert regional director of The Nature Conservancy, the group leading efforts to save the plant.
York said The Nature Conservancy already has purchased 55 acres of state trust lands for $167,000, and it also is partners with the Utah Department of Transportation to buy up to 800 acres more for what will be called the White Dome Nature Preserve.
“We'll buy the property a piece at a time until it is complete,” said York.
The preserve eventually will offer walking trails and signs that explain the two plants' uniqueness. Each demands gypsum soil to survive.
Kevin Carter, director of the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, said he is glad his agency can participate.
“SITLA is proud to be part of an effort,” he said.
In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management are participating.
York said a $141,000 grant from the FWS helped with the initial land purchase.
She said St. George's rate of development would surround the preserve with homes within 10 years. The area is popular with ATV riders.
“Now is the time to [act], or the plant habitat could be lost forever,” said York.
To raise awareness of the finicky poppy, which has an eight-year lifespan, St. George Mayor Dan McArthur this year proclaimed the second Saturday in May as Dwarf Bear-Poppy Day.
UDOT is planning on buying 140 acres this year to mitigate impact on the poppy's habitat from the southern-corridor highway. The road is being built, between Interstate 15 south of St. George to State Route 9 near Hurricane, to serve a new airport.
UDOT regional director Dal Hawks said the purchase - at $3,000 an acre - is double what was required to mitigate the new highway's impact.
“The partnership with the conservancy is a good step,” said Hawks. “It helps us, and it helps the plants."
He said a preserve-management agreement is still being worked out, but UDOT expects it will maintain fencing around White Dome.
Renee Van Buren, who has a doctorate in botany and has studied the plants for several years, said the preserve is the best way to protect the poppy and pincushion cactus.
She said the poppy, which blooms hundreds of big white flowers in the spring, remains a mystery to botanists.
“We're unable to germinate its seeds, and it can't be transplanted,” said Van Buren, who teaches at Utah Valley State College in Orem. “It's a hard-nosed guy that hasn't let us in on its secrets yet.”
She said White Dome also should protect the type of bee that pollinates the plants.
“It allows a large enough tract of land to be purchased to support a whole [eco] system,” she said. “It's better than just having the plants in a botanical garden. The Nature Conservancy has done a great job.
“This is just one of many of our natural treasures in the state of Utah that demands our attention and conservation energies,” she said.
mhavnes@sltrib.com
Siler's pincushion cactus
* Scientific name: Pediocactus sileri
* Where found:: Utah, Arizona
* Habitat: Gypsum soil.
* Status: Threatened.
* Listed: 1979
* Characteristics: Cylindrical cactus, about 4-5 inches tall. May be single-stemmed or grow in clusters. Yellow flowers bloom in spring.
Dwarf bear-poppy
* Scientific name: Arctomecon humilis
* Where found: Washington County
* Habitat: Gypsum soils
* Status: Endangered
* Listed: 1979
* Characteristics: Can live about eight years. Less than 1 foot tall, its three-parted leaves look like a bear's paw. It blooms up to 200 to 300 white flowers in May. Even in extreme drought years, it will bloom when few flowers bloom.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Renee Van Buren
