Species Profile for Pagosa skyrocket(Ipomopsis polyantha)

Pagosa skyrocket (Ipomopsis polyantha)

Taxonomy:

View taxonomy in ITIS

Listing Status: Endangered

Where Listed: WHEREVER FOUND

General Information

Pagosa skyrocket is a non-woody (herbaceous) plant species in the phlox family. It grows 12 to 24 inches tall from a rosette of finely dissected leaves. Clusters of white or light pink flowers, often flecked with purple or pink spots, run along the stems. Pagosa skyrocket can be seen in bloom in June and July. The plant grows as a rosette for one to many years until conditions are right to flower and reproduce. Pagosa skyrocket is only found in two populations in and near the town of Pagosa Springs at an elevation of 6,800 to 7,300 ft. The plant can be found on gray soils derived from Mancos Shale in open grasslands and grassland understories at the edges of open forests. The species has adapted to grow on these shale soils, which are very dry and erosive, making the conditions harsh and difficult for most other plant species to survive. Due to development impacts, remaining Pagosa skyrocket habitat is often found adjacent to roads, in dry ditches, among buildings, and in some pastures. The primary threat to Pagosa skyrocket is land use changes including commercial, residential, municipal, and agricultural property development, and associated utility installations and access roads. In addition, nonnative invasive plants (weeds), concentrated livestock use, and the potential effects of climate change may impact the species. Because of its extremely limited distribution, the species is vulnerable to habitat modification and changes in the environment. Pagosa skyrocket also relies on insect pollinators to reproduce. The loss of pollinators and pollinator habitat is considered a threat to this species.

Current Listing Status Summary

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Status	Date Listed	Lead Region	Where Listed
Endangered	08-26-2011	Mountain Prairie Region (Region 6)	Wherever found Additional species information

Showing 1 to 1 of 1 entries

» Range Information

Current Range

Last Updated: 12-12-2022 - Wherever found

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Current range maps are only shown within the jurisdictional boundaries of the United States of America. The species may also occur outside this region.

Wherever found
Listing status: Endangered

States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: Colorado
US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All

USFWS Refuges in which this population is known to occur:

State	County
Colorado	Archuleta

» Candidate Information

No Candidate information available for this species.

No Candidate Assessments available for this species.

Candidate Notice of Review Documents

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Date	Citation Page	Title
11/09/2009	74 FR 57804 57878	Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Notice of Findings on Resubmitted Petitions; Annual Description of Progress on Listing Actions
12/10/2008	73 FR 75176 75244	Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Notice of Findings on Resubmitted Petitions; Annual Description of Progress on Listing Actions; Proposed Rule
12/06/2007	72 FR 69034 69106	Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Notice of Findings on Resubmitted Petitions; Annual Description of Progress on Listing Actions; Proposed Rule
09/12/2006	71 FR 53756 53835	Review of Native Species That Are Candidates or Proposed for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Notice of Findings on Resubmitted Petitions; Annual Description of Progress on Listing Actions
05/11/2005	70 FR 24870 24934	Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Review of Native Species That Are Candidates or Proposed for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Notice of Findings on Resubmitted Petitions; Annual Description of Progress on Listing Actions; Proposed Rule
09/30/1993	58 FR 51144 51190	ETWP; Review of Plant Taxa for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species
02/21/1990	55 FR 6184 6229	ETWP; Review of Plant Taxa for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species; Notice of Review; 55 FR 6184 6229
09/27/1985	50 FR 39526 39584	Review of Plant Taxa for Listing as End. or Thr. Species; Notice of Review; 50 FR 39526-39584

Showing 1 to 8 of 8 entries

No Uplisting Documents currently available for this species.

» Federal Register Documents

Federal Register Documents

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Date	Citation Page	Title	Supporting Documents
06/29/2021	86 FR 34271 34273	Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery Plan for Pagosa Skyrocket	Species Status Assessment
05/27/2016	81 FR 33698 33700	ETWP; Initiation of 5-Year Status Reviews of 21 Species in the Mountain-Prairie Region
08/13/2012	77 FR 48368 48418	Designation of Critical Habitat for Ipomopsis polyantha (Pagosa skyrocket), Penstemon debilis (Parachute beardtongue), and Phacelia submutica (DeBeque phacelia); Final Rule
03/27/2012	77 FR 18157 18172	Designation of Critical Habitat for Ipomopsis polyantha (Pagosa skyrocket), Penstemon debilis (Parachute beardtongue), and Phacelia submutica (DeBeque phacelia):Revised proposed rule; reopening of comment period.
07/27/2011	76 FR 45078 45128	Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Ipomopsis polyantha (Pagosa skyrocket), Penstemon debilis (Parachute beardtongue), and Phacelia submutica (DeBeque phacelia); Proposed Rule
07/27/2011	76 FR 45054 45075	Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for Ipomopsis polyantha (Pagosa Skyrocket) and Threatened Status for Penstemon debilis (Parachute Beardtongue) and Phacelia submutica (DeBeque Phacelia); Final Rule
06/23/2010	75 FR 35721 35746	Listing Ipomopsis polyantha (Pagosa Skyrocket) as Endangered Throughout Its Range, and Listing Penstemon debilis (Parachute Beardtongue) and Phacelia submutica (DeBeque Phacelia) as Threatened Throughout Their Range
11/09/2009	74 FR 57804 57878	Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Notice of Findings on Resubmitted Petitions; Annual Description of Progress on Listing Actions	Ipomopsis polyantha 2009 Candidate Assessment
12/10/2008	73 FR 75176 75244	Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Notice of Findings on Resubmitted Petitions; Annual Description of Progress on Listing Actions; Proposed Rule	Ipomopsis polyantha 2008 Candidate Assessment
12/06/2007	72 FR 69034 69106	Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Notice of Findings on Resubmitted Petitions; Annual Description of Progress on Listing Actions; Proposed Rule	Candidate Assessment

Showing 1 to 10 of 15 entries

» Species Status Assessments (SSAs)

Species Status Assessments (SSAs)

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Document Date	Document Version	Document Title
09/01/2020	1	Species Status Assessment (SSA) Report for the Pagosa skyrocket (Ipomopsis polyantha)

Showing 1 to 1 of 1 entries

Special Rule Publications

No Special Rule Publications currently available for this species.

» Recovery

Species with Recovery Documents Data Explorer
Recovery Priority Number: 8C

Current Recovery Plan(s)

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Date	Plan Stage	Recovery Plan	Implementation Status	SSAs/Biological Reports	Recovery Implementation Strategies
07/15/2022	Final	Pagosa skyrocket (Ipomopsis polyantha) Final Recovery Plan	View Implementation Progress		Pagosa skyrocket Recovery Implementation Strategy (RIS) -

Showing 1 to 1 of 1 entries

Date	Citation Page	Title	Document Type
05/27/2016	81 FR 33698 33700	ETWP; Initiation of 5-Year Status Reviews of 21 Species in the Mountain-Prairie Region	Five Year Review Notice, Information Solicitation

Date	Title
02/23/2021	Pagosa skyrocket(Ipomopsis polyantha) 5-Year Review

» Critical Habitat

Critical Habitat Spatial Extents

Population(s)

Wherever found

Critical Habitat Documents

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Date	Citation Page	Title	Critical Habitat Shapefile	Document Type
08/13/2012	77 FR 48368 48418	Designation of Critical Habitat for Ipomopsis polyantha (Pagosa skyrocket), Penstemon debilis (Parachute beardtongue), and Phacelia submutica (DeBeque phacelia); Final Rule	Download	Final

Showing 1 to 1 of 1 entries

To learn more about critical habitat please see https://ecos.fws.gov/crithab

» Conservation Plans

No Conservation Plans currently available for this species.

» Petitions

No Petitions currently available for this species.

» Biological Opinions

To see all FWS Issued Biological Opinions please visit the BO Report.

» Life History

Habitat Requirements

Pagosa skyrocket is limited soils derived from Mancos Shale. The soil pH is nearly neutral to slightly alkaline (6.6 to 8.4). The elevation range is 6,750 to 7,775 feet (ft) (2,050 to 2,370 meters (m)). Plants occur in discontinuous colonies as a pioneer species on open shale or as a climax species along the edge of Pinus ponderosa (Ponderosa pine), mixed P. ponderosa and Juniperus scopulorum (Rocky mountain juniper), or Juniperus. osteosperma (Utah juniper) and Quercus gambellii (Gambel oak) forested areas. Now the species is found mostly on sites that are infrequently disturbed by grazing, such as road right-of-ways (ROWs) that are fenced from grazing (as opposed to open range), lightly grazed pastures, and undeveloped lots.

Movement / Home Range

The two known occurrences of Pagosa skyrocket are within about 13 miles (mi) (21 kilometers (km)) of each other, and collectively occupy about 388.4 acres (ac) (157.1 hectares (ha)) of habitat within a range that includes about 6.5 square mi (16.8 square km). The Pagosa Springs occurrence is southeast of the Town of Pagosa Springs along both sides of U.S. 84. Occupied habitat extends southward on the highway ROW for 3 mi (4.8 km) from the intersection with U.S. 160, and on private lands on both sides of the highway. The Dyke occurrence is about 10 mi (16 km) west of Pagosa Springs along U.S. Highway 160. It includes 0.5 mi (0.8 km) of highway ROW on both sides of U.S. 160, adjacent private land, and a BLM parcel.

Reproductive Strategy

Pollination by bees is the most common means of reproduction for Pagosa skyrocket, and the primary pollinators are the honey bee (Apis mellifera), metallic green bee (Augochlorella spp.), bumble bee (Bombus spp.), and digger bee (Anthophora spp.).

» Other Resources

NatureServe Explorer Species Reports-- NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.

ITIS Reports-- ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System) is a source for authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.

FWS Digital Media Library -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video." +