At Wild Ones, we’re dedicated to connecting people and native plants. Our Native Plant News blog delivers the latest stories on native plant conservation, scientific discoveries, and habitat restoration from across the nation. This monthly, volunteer-written feature is designed to educate, engage, and inspire action, empowering readers to support biodiversity and promote sustainable landscaping with native flora.
The Endangered Species Act May See Significant Revisions
The Trump administration is proposing changes to the Endangered Species Act and these changes could fundamentally impact the process in which plants and animals can be listed and remove protections for species already listed.
The proposed changes allow the government to consider impacts such as economic benefits and national security first before protecting critical habitat. Rules regarding threatened species conservation would now have to be tailored to each threatened species instead of using a “blanket rule” option that gives automatic protections. The Endangered Species Act’s rules prevent killing, harassing, trapping, or other harmful activities against protected species. This also includes harming species by disturbing habitat. However, the Trump administration is also proposing to change the definition of “harm” under that rule.
“Now, the burden of proof is to show that a species is present in an area as opposed to showing that this is habitat that’s appropriate for that species, and it’s probably there and we should probably protect it,” Eli Bridge, director of the Oklahoma Biological Survey at the University of Oklahoma, said. “ It’s important that you’d be able to protect habitat even if you’re not exactly sure what’s there.” Habitat loss is the primary cause of decline in almost 90% of species, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
How proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act could impact Oklahoma wildlife-KOSU.org
Indiana: Unexpected Discovery: Endangered Species Found in New Land Addition
The Department of Natural Resources Division of Nature Preserves and the Central Indiana Land Trust recently added a 30-acre tract to the Spring Creek Seeps Nature Preserve. During a survey of the recent addition, Canada yew (Taxus canadensis), a state-endangered plant, was observed.
Canada yew is found in steep slopes and bluffs over rivers and also in bogs and swamps. Habitat fragmentation and loss has led to the decline in this species. According to the DNR’s Heritage database, only a few occurrences of this species are found in the state. The lone Canada yew found in the Spring Creek Seeps Addition grows approximately a mile away from a population recorded in 1932 by botanist Charles Deam that are now gone.
Groundwater seeps such as those found in the Spring Creep Seeps Addition are very sensitive and provide important habitat for rare and endangered species.
Little Shrub, Big Significance-ConservingIndiana.org
Michigan: Pollinator-Friendly Landscaping Lowers Costs, Pollution
The Department of Entomology and the Infrastructure Planning and Facilities at Michigan State University (MSU) are creating 30 acres of pollinator habitat on campus.
The two departments collaborated to create the habitat to support pollinators and wildlife while simultaneously reducing maintenance demands through reducing the 290 acres that originally needed to be mowed and maintained.
“Turning areas that had been maintained turf grass into meadows made a lot of sense operationally. After the first-year investment into seeds and plants the annual maintenance cost reduces significantly,” Joshua Ridner, MSU landscape services coordinator, said. “We have a lean crew, so reducing mowed areas lets us stretch the workforce further throughout other day to day tasks.”
Ridner and Meghan Milbrath, MSU Entomology apiculture professor, used campus maps to choose areas to set up the habitat. Native seed mixes and plugs were installed by MSU staff and volunteers. Even with the work associated with installing the pollinator habitat, reducing mowing in these areas from 26 times a year to once a year has significantly lowered labor costs. The habitat also provides ecological value by supporting pollinators and reducing landscape equipment emissions.
MSU transforms property to support pollinators-MSU.edu
New Jersey: Using Dredged Material to Restore Coastal Habitat
The New Jersey Fish and Wildlife is partnering with organizations on coastal habitat restoration projects using dredged material, clean sediment from navigation channels.
Saltmarshes lose habitat due to erosion and rising sea levels. By adding the dredged sediment to raise elevation, this material helps restore the natural process of tides, enhances the resilience, promotes growth of native vegetation, improves flood protection, and supports biodiversity in these habitats.
Gull Island in Cape May County is a 287-acre marsh island that has benefited from dredged material that created high marsh areas to support wading bird colonies. This island will undergo further placements. Boot Island is also on the list to use dredge material to create intertidal mudflats for optimal foraging for estuarine species. Northwest Reach, another project, had degraded from high and low marsh areas to mudflat and open water and plans are in place to use dredge material to rebuild marsh habitat, soften the shoreline, and enhance natural wave attenuation. Projects will begin in January and be completed by March 2026.
Coastal Habitat Restoration Projects Using Beneficial Use of Dredged Material-NJ.gov
Genes Give Invasive Species an Edge
A recent study found that cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) may have a genetic advantage that helps the invasive species successfully invade a new range.
Cheatgrass is native to Eurasia and Africa that had spread across North America by the 1890’s, likely introduced multiple times in grain shipments. This species has a huge impact on the ecology of the arid ecoregions of North America’s Intermountain West (Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming), occurring in approximately 31% of this region. This species rapidly reproduces through self-pollination, returns quickly after fire, and outcompetes native plants within the region, reducing biodiversity and degrading habitat.
The study authors found diverse lineages and long distance gene flow among the populations studied: almost half of the cheatgrass populations investigated had a mosaic of approximately 19 locally adapted, near-clonal genotypes, each successful in a different part of North America. Ancestry played a large part of success in an invaded region which showed regional invasion depended on pre-adapted genotypes. For example, in eastern North America, cheatgrass genotypes came from north, central, or eastern Europe. In southern California and Nevada, genotypes were similar to cheatgrass genotypes from Iran and Afghanistan. The authors also found that western North America cheatgrass populations had higher genetic diversity and strong indicators of local adaptation as indicative of a heavily invaded region and strong temperature- and aridity-driven selective pressures while eastern North America showed lower genetic diversity, colonized by closely related lineages, invading only highly disturbed urban and agricultural areas. The cheatgrass populations in the Great Basin (Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming) also show genomic signatures supporting local adaptation, likely through repeated introductions that increased genetic diversity. The large amount of genetic diversity through repeated introductions and the ability to disperse widely makes it easier for cheatgrass to adapt locally especially in changing environmental conditions.
Understanding the genetics behind plant invasions in new regions is an important management tool. Reducing introductions of this species (and others) to new regions can help minimize adaptations of non-native invasive plants
Gamba, D., Vahsen, M.L., Maxwell, T.M. et al. Local adaptation to climate has facilitated the global invasion of cheatgrass. Nat Commun 16, 10203 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64799-9
Busy as a Beaver
Commonly thought of as an industrious little mammal that builds dams that create, and support, wetland biodiversity, two new studies suggest that beavers may impact more than just water-dwelling species.
According to a study in the Journal of Animal Ecology, beaver-created ponds and wetlands have a larger abundance of insects and dead tree abundance that are foraging and roosting sites for bats. Bat activity was 1.6 times higher and hunted more than twice as often in sites with beavers compared to sites without. An average of 5 bat species were observed in beaver spots vs. 4 bat species in beaver-free zones.
A study in the Journal of Applied Ecology compared the numbers of different insect species at beaver-created ponds versus human-created ponds and found that beaver ponds had 29% more hoverfly species, 119% more individual hoverflies, and 45% more individual butterflies than the human-created ponds. The authors speculated that this was due to the species of plants growing at beaver-created ponds which tend to have more prolifically growing and blooming species that attracted more pollinators.
Beavers are Dam Good for Biodiversity, Bringing Bats, Butterflies and Other Critters to Their Neighborhoods-SmithsonianMag.com
Moser V, Capitani L, Zehnder L, Hürbin A, Obrist MK, Ecker K, Boch S, Minnig S, Angst C, Pomati F, Risch AC. Habitat heterogeneity and food availability in beaver-engineered streams foster bat richness, activity and feeding. Journal of Animal Ecology 94 (2), 2403-2420 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.70136
Cook P, Law A, Pattison Z, Willby NJ. Beaver wetlands create a buzz and a flutter for pollinators. Journal of Applied Ecology 62 (2), 3288-3299 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70193
Texas: Saving Plants Without Burning Bridges
Rescuing native plants from soon-to-be developed sites can do more harm than good if proper measures aren’t taken, according to The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT).
Rogue rescue campaigns without proper permission and guidance is considered unethical and unwise. Only plants that are ethically and legally collected can be added to scientific collections and studies. Collecting plants without landowner approval is usually considered trespassing. These actions threaten to create anger and distrust between conservationists and landowners. “Actions that hinder our ability to build bridges with developers, even when done with the best of intentions, have potentially severe consequences for native plant conservation in the long term,” says Kay Hankins, a BRIT conservationist.
BRIT works with private landowners and municipalities to rescue plants from planned development sites. These plants are then distributed to conservation groups, native plant grower, pollinator gardens, and other programs. BRIT then encourages developers to reach out when development is planned so plants can be saved, creating and maintaining a proactive response and mutually beneficial relationship.
