There are many endangered species in the world.

There are fewer in America, even less in the mid-west and just 11 in Kansas. 2 out of those 11 are plants, one of which, is the topic of my speech today; The Western Prairie Fringed Orchid. The western prairie fringed orchid, scientific name; Platanthera Praeclara, is listed on the federal list of threatened and endangered species. This prairie wildflower is currently known to occur in 7 states and one Canadian province. This orchid was first documented by the Lewis and Clark expedition in what is now Wyoming, though its heart of historic origin is expected to be Kansas. The orchid occurs in native prairie tall grass meadows. Some distinguishable traits of the western prairie fringed orchid are large white flowers, up to 1 and inches long, large angular columns, and broad, triangular leaves. In the United States, this plant is protected be the 1988 re-institution of the 1796 endangered protection law. Crimes for harvesting, selling, plowing, or otherwise harming this plant, are punishable in both criminal and civil law, with fines starting at $25,000. State protection for the Western prairie fringed orchid varies. Several state laws afford protection comparable to federal protection, restricting projects that would impact the species on public lands. In addition, some states restrict taking of the plant or its parts from the public or private lands for sale, trade or export, and requires a permit before plants or their parts can be used in research. The penalties for violating any of these laws vary from state to state. Although agricultural use of the wildflower has not yet been addressed, the EPA regulations apply to the use of certain pesticides and herbicides within areas where endangered or threatened species are located. There are many reasons why the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid threatened. This can be explained as a chain of causes and effects on the prairie ecosystem. First, when European settlers found that prairie land was great for farming crops, many tall grass meadows were changed from pastures to crop land. Then, when research showed that dormant season prairie fires could be good for prairie ecosystems, many wildflowers were lost in the fires. And, many hayfields that were previously tall grass meadows are mowed before Orchids pollinate, destroying their chances of reproduction. This has left many orchids in stranded islands reserves. These wildflowers are very unique in how their species has evolved. They do not give out sweet scent nectar during the day, but when the sun goes down, the nectar grows especially strong. This attracts hawkmoths. Hawkmoths are also special, because they are the only species of insect that can pollinate the orchid, because of the exceptionally wide eyes, that attract and transfer the pollen. Hawkmoths are especially attracted to these orchids, because of their especially long tongue, which is also needed to get the nectar, because these orchids have long spikes. So if hawkmoths are the only thing that can pollinate this orchid, then how has it survived? When Orchids lived in big tall-grass meadows, this was easy and simple. But, as agriculture and industry has separated the orchid patches, it has become harder for the hawkmoth to pollinate different types, creating lower bio-diversity. Hawkmoths cannot currently fly long enough to pollinate separate Orchid patches. So if we want to preserve the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid, well have to preserve these moths as well. Western Prairie Fringed Orchids are managed in areas federally and publicly protected. The foremost used way of managing, is prescribed burning. Todays prairie remnants are often invaded by non-native grasses or woody species. Carefully planned and controlled fires are the primary tool used by preserve managers to reduce mulch buildup and control the increase of non-native grasses. In some areas there are existing grazing leases in orchid habitats. In this case, grazing has the secondary effect of reducing mulch buildup. A number of Western Prairie Fringed Orchids occur on private lands where farmers or other landowners have maintained the species through conservation-minded agricultural practices. Many landowners are proud to have such a rare species on their land, and keep the plant in mind when planning agricultural activities. This really says a lot for the farmers and ranchers with this rare prairie wild flower. If the rest of the population of the world could think with mindsets like this, many of the endangered and threatened species of the world could be saved.