If you've ever hiked in native Palouse or Camas prairies, you may have spotted wildflowers with bright yellow blossoms.
Rough goldenweed and Palouse goldenweed, two related plants native to the Northwest, are named for the color of their yellow blooms.
Rough goldenweed is often found south of the Clearwater River in Idaho, in Washington and some parts of Oregon. Palouse goldenweed is found farther north in Palouse prairieland in Washington and Idaho.
Now, the Center for Biological Diversity is petitioning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to add both to the Endangered Species Act list.
Most of the remaining habitat for those native plants is on small sections of private land, said Gwendolyn McManus, a staff scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity.
" They're only found in the bunchgrass prairies of the Pacific Northwest, most of which has been lost because it was converted to agriculture," she said.
According to the organization's petition for Palouse goldenweed, only about 0.1% of the plant's habitat type may remain today. Remnants of its populations are often found where the land is too steep or rocky to farm.
That federal protection would mean an added layer of consideration when things like public land use or road projects are considered. But McManus said right now, the timeline for a species to be listed is over a decade.
"Just because the Fish and Wildlife Service has lost a lot of funding, and a lot of the staff that they need to actually do their jobs," she said.
She said the petition also increases awareness among landowners and the public.
One of the biggest threats to native plants are invasive species like cheatgrass and Russian Thistle. One thing everyone can do to protect native plants, McManus said, is clean their shoes and gear before a hike.
"One of the most common ways that invasive plant species are introduced into new habitats is on people's hiking boots," she said.
The petition was filed thanks to the work of local botanists who brought the wildflowers to the organization's attention.
"There are thousands upon thousands of species that are probably at risk of extinction," McManus said. "It's impossible for us to know about all of them, so we rely on the experts to bring them to us."
The wildflowers play an important role in pollination, help move nutrients and aerate soil, McManus said.
"Pollinators rely on having a constant resource of flowering plants, so each plant that blooms in a different window of time is providing a unique resource for those pollinators," she said.
Copyright 2026 NWPB News (Northwest Public Broadcasting)
