The Service proposed to list the Ventura marsh milk-vetch as an endangered species on May 25, 1999. A complete description of the Service's final rule to list this species as endangered will be published in the Federal Register. The Service made this final listing decision consistent with the terms of the settlement of a lawsuit filed against the Service by the Center for Biological Diversity. Consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are necessary for private and other landowners only when federal funding or permits are required for activities that may affect listed species. Native plants are important for their ecological, economic, and aesthetic values.
Plants play an important role in development of crops that resist disease, insects, and drought.
At least 25 percent of prescription drugs contain ingredients derived from plant compounds, including medicine to treat cancer, heart disease, juvenile leukemia, and malaria, as well that used to assist organ transplants. Plants are also used to develop natural pesticides. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.