Student's Research Lands Lily on Endangered List

If Lyall's mariposa lily could speak, chances are it would thank UVic biology PhD student Mike Miller for making it a recent addition to the national endangered species list. Miller has spent the past five years studying the rare plant for his PhD dissertation and, together with staff at the Conservation Data Centre in Victoria, wrote the report that resulted in the lily being added to the list.

"I was interested in this plant because it had never been studied, it's rare and it only grows in a small, restricted area in Canada," says Miller, adding that the plant's seeds don't travel far so it doesn't spread quickly. The lily grows in meadows on high land west of Osoyoos in South Central B.C., an area known locally as East Chopaka.

A newly designated protected area, the South Okanagan Grasslands Provincial Park, will preserve the plant whose existence was threatened by recent silviculture practices and cattle grazing in the area. "We need to protect as much of its potential habitat as possible," says Miller. While the role the lily plays in the web of life of the area is not fully understood, Miller says it is known to be a food source of the local gopher population, which in turn serve as food for the hawks and other birds of prey.

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