LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Despite its name, the Las Vegas bearpoppy is pretty difficult to find in and around Las Vegas.
This wildflower is very rare. So rare, in fact, that advocates say it’s at risk of extinction.
Local artists Jess and Elliott Demlow, owners of Paints With Care, recently depicted the plant species on a mural at Uncommons.
“It sparks the conversation," Jess Demlow expained, “What's something about Las Vegas that makes it unique? What's something that we can bring that's different that, you know, maybe hasn't been shown yet? And after extensive research, we landed on the bearpoppy.”
Within the mural, the plant’s pollinator is depicted: the Mojave poppy bee.
Neither species has actually been listed on the Endangered Species List, at least, not yet.
“And so as far as we know, it's the first time a pollinator and a pollinat-ee have been petitioned together,” said Patrick Donnelly, Great Basic Director at the Center of Biological Diversity.
"The Mojave poppy bee is very rare. It's rarely been seen and documented, and so it seemed like a clear candidate for listing."
In 2019, the nonprofit petitioned the government to add the Las Vegas bearpoppy and the Mojave poppy bee to the Endangered Species List. Read the full petition here.
“The Endangered Species Act is the most powerful conservation law in the world at stopping extinction," Donnelly explained. "Organizations like the Center for Biological Diversity and others have have used it, have used those provisions, to really hold agencies feet to the fire about protecting species and stopping extinction. And so that's what we did with the Las Vegas bearpoppy."
Five years later, a decision on the wildflower’s status is set to be released by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in September of this year. The bee’s status will be determined in 2026.
While the State of Nevada has included the Las Vegas bearpoppy on a list for "critically endangered" flora, Donnelly said it's not enough.
"In reality, the State of Nevada has never once, that I've documented, said no to a permit for someone wanting to destroy the habitat of this species. They come up with mitigation plans, but ultimately the state level protections are pretty hollow, and it's you know, federal protections are the ones that really matter," Donnelly said.
If a species is listed on the ESA, the federal government must designate critical habitat and develop recovery plans. Currently, over 1,300 species are listed as endangered or threatened in the U.S.
“Biodiversity gives us clean air to breathe and clean water to drink and puts food on our plates. And you know, every extinction, we are losing a piece of that biodiversity. And if the Las Vegas bearpoppy goes extinct, and the Mojave Poppy Bee goes extinct, and we have like a million species around the world at risk of extinction, according to the UN, you know, that really puts our own existence in jeopardy," Donnelly said.
Research suggests bearpoppy numbers have been in decline since 1994. Their habitat is restricted to Clark County and possibly Mohave County in Arizona.
