KXO RADIO - Milk Vetch to remain on Threatened List

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Todays is : Saturday, 11 October 2008

Written by George Gale
Thursday, 17 July 2008
(Peirson’s milk vetch to remain on threatened list)…The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced they will keep the weed on the threatened list. The action comes after the Departments 12 month review. The American Sand Association and others had petitioned to have the weed removed from the list. County Supervisor Wally Leimgruber was surprised with the announcement. The County representative on the Quad State coalition said science had been submitted to Fish and Wildlife proving the weed was not threatened. Leimgruber said the milk vetch actually thrives during wet periods. He said it the population decreases in dry years. The milk vetch is found in the Algodones area and down into Mexico. Environmentalists have used the weed as a reason to have the Bureau of Land Management close off desert land from recreational use. Originally, over 50,000 acres were closed to the public. That acreage was reduced to around 30,000 acres. The American Sand Association is expected to respond the Dish and Wildlife determination, published Thursday in the Federal Registrar.