Saving an Endangered Species and a Trail One Fence Post at a Time

The Red Bluff Area of Critical Concern (ACEC), just outside St. George, is known for its fun and flowy mountain bike trails. It also happens to be one of the few places where the Dwarf Bear Claw Poppy thrives. After consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and through an Environmental Assessment, the Dwarf Bear Claw Poppy was determined endangered and necessary measures would be needed to save the species, or the ACEC would be limited or closed to recreationalists. In an effort to conserve the endangered species and the Bear Claw Poppy Mountain Biking Trail, the BLM enlisted the help of an American Conservation Experience (ACE) crew. Through hard manual labor, the crew installed split rail fences to minimize impacts to the endangered Dwarf Bear Claw Poppy while maintaining access for recreational public lands users. "Erosion, invasive plants, and wildfire greatly impact critical seed banks found in the soil—and that's what we're trying to protect," said John Kellam, BLM-Utah St. George Field Office Wildlife Biologist. But the project goal is twofold, "We're trying to mitigate and protect the habitat and allow for recreational use along the trail system".