The manzanita,
Arctostaphylos franciscana, became extinct in the wild in 1947, a victim of urban development in San Francisco. According to the
Los Angeles Times, the last place Franciscan manzanita was seen was in Laurel Hill Cemetery, where Gold Rush pioneers were laid to rest. The old cemetery is now covered over with "tony boutiques, pricey houses and tennis courts"; botanists were able to dig up specimens of the plant before the developers sent the bulldozers in.
There is currently only one specimen of the shrub, which grows close to the ground and has narrow, pointed leaves, near the 1,500-acre national park near the Presidio in San Francisco.
We, the undersigned, request that you designate the Franciscan Manzanita as an endangered species.
The manzanita,
Arctostaphylos franciscana, became extinct in the wild in 1947, a victim of urban development in San Francisco. According to the
Los Angeles Times, the last place Franciscan manzanita was seen was in Laurel Hill Cemetery, where Gold Rush pioneers were laid to rest. The old cemetery is now covered over with "tony boutiques, pricey houses and tennis courts"; botanists were able to dig up specimens of the plant before the developers sent the bulldozers in.
There is currently only one specimen of the shrub, which grows close to the ground and has narrow, pointed leaves, near the 1,500-acre national park near the Presidio in San Francisco.
In 2009, the
Wild Equity Institute filed an emergency petition to have the manzanita protected under the Endangered Species Act. But two years have passed and the Fish and Wildlife Service has yet to act. Says the
Wild Equity Institute's executive director Brent Plater about the dragged-out process -- there is only
one Franciscan manzanita left growing in the wild -- "The race against extinction is a race against time."
Please save the Franciscan Manzanita and designate it as an endangered species because time is running out.