Fearing future road expansion and urban sprawl will threaten the native wildflower's tiny range, a pair of environmental groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday to force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to craft a recovery plan for the species.

"The Deseret milkvetch was thought to be extinct for a long time. It was seen for the last time in 1909, then not again until 1981," said Erin Robertson, a biologist with the Colorado-based Center for Native Ecosystems. "It's come back from the brink once and we want to ensure that the Fish and Wildlife Service meets its obligations."

Robertson's organization, along with the Utah Native Plant Society, filed suit to force the Fish and Wildlife Service to comply with the Endangered Species Act, which requires the agency to adopt a recovery plan for protected species and designate critical habitat necessary for survival and recovery. The agency listed the Deseret milkvetch, a member of the bean family that has grayish leaves and pink petals, as "threatened" in 1999, but has yet to act.

Robertson and others acknowledge that the plant isn't currently under duress; in fact, it's relatively healthy given its circumstances. But with Utah County being one of the fastest growing areas in the nation, and the southern end of the county still relatively undeveloped, the biologist figures it's only a matter of time before a problem emerges. The area has also been overgrazed by livestock in the past, she said.

"We're being proactive now, so that when the time comes, it will have the protection it needs," said Robertson,

Fish and Wildlife Service botanist Larry England says that the agency is well aware of the wildflower's plight and is monitoring the situation with what he calls "limited resources."

With its limited range, he said, "it remains vulnerable to any event that impacts that area."

The wildflower patch sits within 1,000 feet of a two-lane highway, on a parcel that measures about 1 1/2 miles long by a half-mile wide. Environmentalists have been reluctant to reveal the exact location of the plant, given its fragility.

Any recovery plan for the plant will probably involve the state because a portion of its habitat is on land owned by the Division of Wildlife Resources. A pair of private landowners also own slices of the plant's habitat.

jbaird@sltrib.com

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.