Nearly four years ago, the Kuenzler hedgehog cactus was classified as threatened and in March the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a plan to protect the rare cactus.
According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website, the cactus is found in the Sacramento mountains in Lincoln County, New Mexico and the Guadalupe mountains in Eddy County, N.M. A March 18 news release noted the keys to the recovery plan for the plant will include shoring up populations while protecting the cactus and its habitat from existing and potential threats.
“The Kuenzler hedgehog recovery plan outlines how we can work with partners to stop the species’ decline and ensure its long-term survival,” Shawn Sartorious, the New Mexico field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service release noted the pant thrives in sandy gravel and rocky outcrops found in grassland and woodland areas of southeastern New Mexico, and it was officially listed as endangered in 1979, with less than 200 specimens known at two sites.
However, a 2017 status assessment found the plants can live for up to 40 years and can reproduce after five years, with a morality rate of about 10 percent annually, usually offset by new seedlings.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service news release, the Kuenzler hedgehog cactus could ultimately be considered stable when the plant is found in abundance in three key locations in the northern and southern Sacramento mountains and Guadalupe range for two decades.