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Local lily gains federal habitat protection Southern Oregon's "Gentner's fritillary," has been listed as endangered. Flower exists only in a few spots in Rogue basin By PAUL FATTIG ASHLAND -- Katherine Gentner has received a Christmas gift from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The present was to list Gentner's fritillary, one of Oregon's rarest native plants, on the federal Endangered Species List. Listing the plant helps protect its habitat. "It's part of our family legacy," she said of the plant she helped discover. "I'm so glad they have done this. "It has to be protected," she added."It's only found in Jackson and Josephine County. It grows nowhere else." The lily that Gentner, now 79, found in Jackson County nearly 60 years ago was officially placed on the list Friday. "Only 340 of these uniquely beautiful plants are known to exist," said Anne Badgley, the BLM regional director for the Pacific Northwest. Standing about two feet tall, the lily produces showy red bell-shaped flowers with pale yellow streaks. It has been found only in open woodlands in the rural foothills of the Rogue and Illinois River valleys. A recent survey of the plants by biologists found them on 45 sites with only eight sites larger than an acre. Most have been found on less than of an acre. There were 13 sites found on the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management, five on state land, seven on city of Jacksonville lands and 20 on private lands. "It has never been found in large populations -- it's mostly a few plants here and there," said Joan Seevers, the BLM's state botanist who is based in Medford. The plants have been found only in oak and pine forests, Seevers said. The largest populations have been found in the Jacksonville area. A species is designated endangered if it is at risk of becoming extinct throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Threats to the plants include logging, digging of bulbs by horticulturists; predation by wildlife; fungal infection; loss of habitat from fire suppression; road building and maintenance; farming; and trampling by hikers, mountain bikes and horses, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Collecting listed plants on state and federal lands is against the law. Federal agencies must consult the Fish and Wildlife Service before funding activities or issuing permits on private lands that may affect listed species. However, activities on private land that do not involve federal funding or federal permits are not affected by the listing. Gentner, a 1940 graduate of Medford Senior High School, is the daughter of the late L.G. Gentner, a noted entomologist and assistant superintendent of the Southern Oregon Experiment Station. Her mother was a horticulturist. The Gentners earned the reputation of knowing every insect and plant in the two counties, according to a report on the discovery of the rare plant by family friend and botanist Helen Gilkey. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA