US proposes protections for rare thistle in New Mexico

SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list a rare plant that was once found in the the American Southwest and Mexico as a threatened species. The agency outlined its intensions in Tuesday’s Federal Register. Aside from adding the Wright’s marsh thistle to the list of imperiled species, 159 acres spanning five southern New Mexico counties would be set aside as critical habitat. The thistle used to be found in southern Arizona and parts of Me