| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) A native California plant that has been federally protected for 13 years has recovered, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday in removing it from the endangered species list.
The decision to remove Hoover's woolly-star from a list of threatened species comes after the discovery of new populations in three counties, the service said.
The plant was previously known to exist at only 19 sites in San Luis Obispo, Kern, Fresno and Santa Barbara counties. Biologists have recently found new populations in Kings, Los Angeles and San Benito counties, the service said.
The plant is mainly found on land controlled by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which will designate Hoover's woolly-star as a ``sensitive species'' to provide for continued protection and monitoring.
Hoover's woolly-star is an annual herb with gray fuzzy stems and tiny white or pale blue flowers. The plant can grow up to 8 inches tall and is found at elevations of between 300 and 3,000 feet.
It was originally listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1990.