Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Threatened Status for Helianthus eggertii (Eggert's Sunflower)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) determines threatened status for Helianthus eggertii (Eggert's sunflower) under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This rare plant is presently known from an estimated 34 populations in 14 counties--in Alabama, one population in Blount County; in Kentucky, one population from Grayson and Hardin counties, two populations from Edmonson and Barren counties, and seven populations from Hart County; in Tennessee, one population each in Dickson, Marion, and Williamson counties, two (and a portion of a third) in Maury County, three in Lewis County, four in Lawrence County, and six in Coffee County. It is threatened throughout its range by habitat alteration; residential, commercial, or industrial development; plant succession; and conversion of its limited habitat to pasture or croplands. Herbicide use, particularly along roadsides, also poses a threat. This action extends Federal protection under the Act to Eggert's sunflower.