Cedar glades--natural openings amidst forest where few trees occur--were once scattered throughout the landscape of Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and other states. The glades occur in areas where bedrock is close to the surface and the thin, rocky soils support only those species that can tolerate mineral-rich, nutrient-poor and seasonally dry conditions. In Tennessee, the plants that have evolved in this habitat are special--species like the Tennessee coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis), Spring Creek bladderpod (Lesquerella perforata) and Pyne's ground plum (Astragalus bibullatus) are almost always found in glades. Today, many of these species are disappearing as their habitats are consumed by development or are suffering from an absence of disturbance necessary to keep glade environments open.

At-Risk Story

Because these species are so well-adapted to red cedar glades, survival in other habitats is difficult. However, some winter annual plants like the Spring Creek bladderpod also survive well in crop fields where plowing and disking create lots of habitat for the plants to mature and set seed before fields are re-planted in spring. In addition to the threats that construction and development pose for many of these plants, overutilization of the Tennessee coneflower's aesthetic and possible medicinal qualities also presents a hurdle to survival.

The Situation Today

The Tennessee coneflower, a perennial wildflower thought to be extinct until rediscovered in 1968, was one of the first designated endangered plants. Found in a three-county area of north-central Tennessee, it grows in openings, or glades, in red cedar forest on thin soil overlays. Coneflower populations are restricted to the area near Nashville where suburban development is rapidly consuming farmland, forest and the glades where the coneflower lives (and could be restored). Coneflower conservation efforts have achieved many successes: there are over 100,000 plants now found on less than 300 acres of land. Many colonies have been acquired and are now on protected state lands and a new colony has been established on federal land. However, other glade species that face similar threats have not been so lucky--species like the Spring Creek bladderpod and Pyne's ground plum are far from recovery.

Our 10-Year Vision

Our goal is to work together with landowners to enhance, maintain and protect remaining populations and colonies of glade-dependent species on private land and to establish new populations where suitably managed habitat occurs. The work needed for the Tennessee coneflower is indicative of the kind of recovery needed for all these species.

Restoration Needed

Expanded efforts to work with private landowners to protect remaining populations
Management of private land sites, possibly using prescribed grazing, disking or burning, to maintain habitat suitability
Establishment of new populations with private landowners who have suitable glade or disturbed habitat on their land
Protection of a working landscape of private farms and forests that can support wildflower populations and maintain rare glade habitat

Acres Needed

400

Landowners Needed

Cost of Recovery

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has only a 1989 estimate for some of the costs of the coneflower's recovery, and no recovery plans have yet been published for the ground plum or bladderpod. Environmental Defense believes significant progress toward recovery can be made if it is targeted to specific areas and activities. Over the next 10 years, we will work to direct more than $1.5 million to on-the-ground restoration projects that will help bring Tennessee cedar glade species Back from the Brink.

Every Dollar Counts

You can play a direct role in the conservation of the Tennessee coneflower and Tennessee cedar glade species:

$10 will fund propagation of 10 plants that can then be transplanted to supplement existing populations or create new ones
$100 will fund habitat management on an acre of habitat to prevent other species from over-growing the habitat and to improve germination conditions
$500 will fund the cutting of red cedar and other trees where they are encroaching on glade habitat
$5,000 will fund the development of an agreement with a private landowner and the establishment of a new population on that land

Posted: 14-Aug-2006; Updated: 30-Sep-2009