The Institute for Regional Conservation
Conservation of rare plants, animals, and ecosystems

Today, January 24, 2022, The Institute for Regional Conservation, Center for Biological Diversity, and National Parks Conservation Association filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to list the imperiled Florida-native ghost orchid, Dendrophylax lindenii, as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and to designate critical habitat concurrent with listing.

The ghost orchid is an icon of beauty and nature’s abundance,” said George Gann, executive director at The Institute for Regional Conservation. “It’s long demise in southern Florida and Cuba, in part due to its immense popularity, is a bellwether of things to come. We can do nothing and watch another species go extinct in the wild, or we can act now to protect and restore this flagship orchid and its wild habitats. The Florida we envision includes a restored Greater Everglades ecosystem with all of its biological diversity, including the ghost orchid.

Read the full media release here.

On December 17, IRC had the privilege of hosting a Restoring the Gold Coast volunteer day at Red Reef Park in Boca Raton. Thank you to the City of Boca Raton, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center staff, and volunteers for helping us continue to restore native biodiversity at this coastal park!

Together, we removed several large patches of the invasive Scaevola taccada (Beach naupaka). We also cut back some sea grapes to open up an area containing a beautiful patch of the federally endangered Jacquemontia reclinata (Beach clustervine) to provide more sunlight. Finally, we increased diversity of native plants in the coastal strand by adding plants such as Serenoa repens (Saw palmetto), Jacquemontia reclinata (Beach clustervine), Ernodea littoralis (Beach- creeper), and Dalea floridana (Florida prairieclover).

For more photos from the event, click here.

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