COLLEEN THOMPSON
35
SKIP PUDNEY
SKIP PUDNEY
COLLEEN THOMPSON
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
VENUS FLYTRAP PROTECTION
HE POACHING of Venus flytraps has become such a problem that conservationists are concerned that it could endanger
the plant’s existence. There are currently as few as 35,000 in their natural habitat, the North Carolina History Project states.
The plant became protected by North Carolina state legislation in 1956, but poachers have trolled forest floors for
decades. They can easily collect 1,000 tiny plants in one sweep and sell them for $30 each on the black market.
“Poaching is still occurring on the sites,” Carl says. “Anecdotally, it seems to have slowed down a little after the first pub-lished
arrest. But the numbers are definitely not recovering at this time. We are currently funding annual population counts.”
Four North Carolina men made national headlines in 2015 when they were caught with 970 Venus flytraps —
3 percent of the entire natural population — and were charged with felony poaching. As the number and size of flytrap populations
decline, the survivors face continued multiple threats of habitat loss from development, further poaching and outbreaks of disease.
The Venus flytrap has received the conservation status of “vulnerable,” which is just one step below “endangered.” In October 2016,
botanists from
the University of
Wisconsin-Madison
filed an emergency
petition with the
U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
The petition asked
for the Venus flytrap
to be classified as
endangered. The
petition’s status is
currently listed as
“active” by the wild-life
service.
Left: Controlled fires
are important to
the preservation of
longleaf pine forests.
Below, left to right: a
spider on a gentian,
Yellow fringeless,
loblolly bay, hybrid
pitcher plants, white
fringed orchid,
pitcher plants, thistle
flower.
T
ANNE LILES COURTESY OF THE MOORE FOUNDATION