Texas golden gladecress, photo by Amber Bearb USFWS
This rare plant is part of the unique Weches glade ecosystem in East Texas
April 9, 2025 - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is announcing the availability of the final recovery plan for the endangered Texas golden gladecress, an annual plant that occurs on private and state-owned lands within San Augustine, Sabine, and Nacogdoches counties in Texas. The recovery plan serves as a conservation framework, with the goal of recovering the plant so that it no longer needs protection under the Endangered Species Act. Actions implemented in a recovery plan are voluntary and do not impact activities by private landowners unless there is a federal nexus such as federal funding.
Originally listed as endangered under the ESA in 2013, the Texas golden gladecress is confined to Weches outcrops, treeless glade areas with poorly drained soils in East Texas. The species is part of a unique, ephemeral wetland plant community found seasonally on Weches outcrops. The outcrops’ geology, soil and climate create habitats that support plant species found nowhere else in the world.
Specific recovery plan objectives include conserving the Texas golden gladecress, increasing habitat management, collecting and preserving seeds, and engaging with private landowners and land managers on habitat conservation. Additionally, the plan calls for annual monitoring of the species, studying its life history, and surveying for additional populations within glade habitats. Landowners interested in voluntary conservation opportunities can reach out to the Texas Coastal and Central Plains Ecological Services Field Office.
After a species is listed under the ESA, the development and implementation of a recovery plan help conserve the species. Recovery plans are not regulatory; rather, they provide both a framework for guiding activities that would lead to a species’ recovery and the criteria we expect will indicate that federal protection is no longer necessary.
An electronic copy of the final recovery plan is available on the Service’s websites: ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/8339 and fws.gov/media/final-recovery-plan-texas-golden-gladecress. To obtain a copy by mail, please send a request to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas Coastal and Central Plains Ecological Services Field Office, 17629 El Camino Real, Suite 211, Houston, TX 77058, or by phone at 281-286-8282.
