PORTLAND, Ore.— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing Bradshaw’s desert parsley, a wet prairie wildflower, from the list of endangered species today due to the plant’s successful recovery.

The plant is found only in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and adjacent southwestern Washington. It was protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1988 due to threats from habitat loss. After 31 years of recovery efforts, the plant increased from around 25,000 flowers in 11 populations to more than 11 million flowers today, in 24 populations.

“It’s always good news when a plant or animal is saved from extinction, so today we celebrate Bradshaw’s desert parsley and the Endangered Species Act,” said Tierra Curry, a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity in Portland. “This lovely wildflower is yet another success for America’s most effective conservation law, which has saved more than 99 percent of species placed under its care.”

The wetland flower will require ongoing management to remove invasive species and keep its prairie habitat from becoming forested. Conservation management is now in place on most sites. The Service will monitor the populations for at least five years to make sure the plant continues to thrive.

So far 46 species have been delisted for recovery, including 22 in the past five years. Several more, including the Bradshaw’s desert parsley, have been proposed for delisting based on recovery.

Although the Trump administration has moved forward with delisting a number of species, it has failed on protecting additional imperiled species. So far Trump officials have listed just 21 species under the Endangered Species Act — the lowest of any administration at this point in its presidential term.

By comparison, during the Obama administration, 360 species were protected under the Endangered Species Act. Under Clinton 523 species were protected, while 232 species were protected under George H.W. Bush, 62 species under George W. Bush, and 254 under Reagan.

In 2016 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service developed a workplan to address a backlog of more than 500 species awaiting protection decisions, but the Trump administration has kept the agency from completing decisions for dozens of species every year. On Nov. 20 the Center filed a formal notice of intent to sue it for failing to decide whether 274 imperiled animals and plants across the country should be federally protected.

Bradshaw’s desert parsley is also called Bradshaw’s lomatium. Its scientific name is Lomatium bradshawii.

A photo is available for media use.