Who Maintains the New Mexico Rare Plant Strategy List and What Does It Include?

Updated

The New Mexico Rare Plant Strategy List is maintained by the New Mexico Rare Plant Technical Council (NMRPTC). It focuses on 235 rare and endangered plant species in New Mexico, including one lichen. The website's "About the List" page provides further explanation of the list and its scope.

Who Is Behind the List

The list itself is the responsibility of the NMRPTC, a technical council that maintains the Strategy List. The website that publishes it is a joint effort of three partners:

  • The New Mexico Natural Heritage Program
  • The University of New Mexico Library
  • The New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department–Forestry Division's Endangered Plant Program

So the council maintains the list, while the website is created and kept up through the combined work of these three organizations.

What the List Includes

According to the site, the Strategy List is focused on 235 rare and endangered plant species in New Mexico, including one lichen. That count is the figure the website states for the list's coverage; it is not broken down further in the available page content.

Where the List Fits in the Site

The list sits alongside two related resources on the site:

Resource What it covers
Rare Plant List A searchable list of New Mexico rare plants, searchable by scientific or common name
Rare Plant Conservation Strategy A strategy aimed at protecting and conserving New Mexico's rare and endangered plant species and their habitats through collaborative partnerships, with the goal of improving conservation and management and avoiding federal listing
About the List Background on the Strategy List and its maintenance by the NMRPTC

The Strategy List is therefore the inventory behind the conservation strategy: the strategy describes the conservation goal and the partnership approach, while the list identifies the species in scope.

Practical Takeaways

  • If you need to confirm which species are covered, start with the searchable Rare Plant List and look up a species by scientific or common name.
  • If you need the list's purpose and maintenance details, the "About the List" page is the site's own pointer for "More."
  • If you are working on conservation planning rather than species lookup, the Rare Plant Conservation Strategy page describes the collaborative approach and its aim of avoiding federal listing.

One limit worth noting: the available page content gives the total count (235 species, including one lichen) but does not itemize the list or spell out the criteria used to decide inclusion. For those details, the "About the List" page is the place the site directs readers.