John,
Tiehm's buckwheat is a tiny, cream-colored wildflower living on just 10 acres in Nevada. A linchpin of the local ecosystem, it nourishes a highly diverse pollinator community and is protected under the Endangered Species Act. But now, to help the Bureau of Land Management approve a massive open-pit lithium mine on the flower's doorstep, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is backtracking on the need to safeguard its critical habitat.
Let's be clear: Operating a giant mine in the buckwheat’s last home will doom it to extinction.
The Rhyolite Ridge Mine — and heavy industrialization of the mine site — will outright destroy 21% of Tiehm’s buckwheat’s critical habitat and severely degrade the rest. It will pollute the environment with toxic mining dust and sulfuric acid mist, disrupt the movement of pollinators and other wildlife, spread invasive weeds, and drain precious groundwater.
The Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management know this but still want to move forward with the mine permitting process. Help us make sure both agencies follow the law and keep Tiehm's buckwheat safe.
Sign our petition urging Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who oversees these agencies, to step in and save Tiehm's buckwheat and its habitat from being wiped out forever.
