TEMPLE - On January 11, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced removal of Johnston’s frankenia from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants. The plant was originally listed as endangered on August 7, 1984, when there were thought to be less than 1,000 plants remaining.
Johnston’s frankenia is a perennial shrub native to the southern parts of Texas, including Webb, Zapata, and Starr counties, and parts of northeastern Mexico. The species occurs within an estimated 2,031 square mile range in Texas. It grows in a clumped, patchy fashion in very salty soils. Johnston’s frankenia is found primarily on privately-owned land, making it difficult to complete thorough surveys across the range of the species. As a result of this, many areas within the species’ range in Texas and Mexico were not surveyed prior to the listing of the plant.
In order to collect the necessary data to re-evaluate the status of Johnston’s frankenia, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) botanist Gena Janssen undertook an effort to engage private landowners. Janssen attended county and community events and organized landowner meetings in Webb, Zapata, and Starr counties to present information and discuss this endangered species. This grassroots outreach effort was a huge success and brought the local soil and water conservation districts and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service on board to help.
Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board Vice Chairman, and Zapata County Soil and Water Conservation District member, José Dodier, Jr., played a vital role involving landowners and beginning the discussions on Johnston’s frankenia. Landowner involvement was necessary for TPWD to complete surveys to determine the abundance and distribution of the Johnston’s frankenia. These surveys revealed extensive populations and numbers of individual plants that were undiscovered in the original study.
Landowner cooperation was also essential for Janssen and Dr. Paula Williamson, Texas State University, to carry out biological and ecological studies that showed Johnston’s frankenia’s capacity to survive and increase in plant numbers. Johnston's frankenia coexists with other native plant species in extreme saline soils, giving it somewhat of a competitive advantage, and Janssen's study also revealed frankenia’s ability to regrow after some forms of soil disturbance. Additionally, a number of landowners signed voluntary conservation agreements with TPWD to offer some additional protection to the previously endangered species.
"Landowners understand the value of Johnston’s frankenia. It has wildlife sustainability and erosion prevention value for fragile soils. Landowners are working to conserve the plant in natural settings. Cooperation from landowners, USFWS, and TPWD were instrumental in removing Johnston's frankenia from the Endangered Species List," José Dodier stated.
By working together, local landowners, the community, TPWD, and the USFWS were able to complete extensive surveys and biological/ecological research to fully understand the distribution and abundance of the species as well as its natural resilience. As a result of these valiant efforts, over the past 30 years there have been 64 Johnston’s frankenia populations verified in South Texas. Voluntary efforts and cooperation from landowners helped State and Federal agencies truly understand the status of the species such that it merited removal from Endangered Species Act protections.
This endeavor demonstrates the great benefits that can come from landowner conservation efforts and collaborative work with State and Federal agencies. This cooperative effort resulted in Johnston’s frankenia being removed from the Endangered Species List. Anna Strong of TPWD is continuing conservation efforts through monitoring of Johnston's frankenia.