Plant Makes List of Endangered Species

As expected, federal regulators at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have placed the Ventura marsh milk vetch on the endangered species list. The plant, once thought to be extinct, was rediscovered in 1997 in Oxnard on the site of a proposed 334-unit housing development called North Shore at Mandalay Bay.

The plant is a thick-rooted, reddish-stemmed member of the pea family found only on the site, which is targeted for a cleanup of waste oil. In 1997, 374 plants were counted there.