The tiny, federally endangered sentry milk-vetch (Astragalus cremnophylax var. cremnophylax) is a perennial herb that forms a one inch tall by eight inch wide mat in shallow pockets of soil on the Kaibab limestone. It is endemic to the Grand Canyon, and only grows within 25 feet of the canyon rim. Since 2006, when the Sentry Milk-Vetch Recovery Plan was completed, Grand Canyon National Park has partnered with other groups to help reverse the decline of this species.
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Grand Canyon National Park
Article 1: Recovering the Endangered Sentry Milk-Vetch, Methods & Preliminary Results
The recovery effort takes a multi-faceted approach to meeting recovery plan objectives. Priorities include identifying and protecting existing habitat and populations, researching optimal growing conditions, and establishing new populations. Read more
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Grand Canyon National Park
Article 2: Recovering the Endangered Sentry Milk-Vetch, 2016 Update
Additional sentry milk-vetch populations have been discovered on the South and North Rims since 2006, when the sentry milk-vetch recovery plan was published. Currently there are five wild populations on the North Rim, four wild populations on the South Rim, and three introduced populations on the South Rim. In 2016, sentry milk-vetch monitoring, propogation, site mapping, planting, and propagation protocol refinements were among the recovery milestones. Read more