Survey of protected vascular plants on the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Abstract

T&E plant species found on or near the U. S. Department of Energy's @OE) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) are identified. Twenty-eight species identified on the ORR are listed by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation as either endangered, threatened, or of special concern. Four of these have been under review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for possible listing (listed in the formerly-used C2 candidate category). Additional species listed by the state occur near and may be present on the ORR. A range of habitats support the rare taxa on the ORR: river bluffs, sinkholes, calcareous barrens, wetlands, utility corridors, and forests. The list of T&E plant species and their locations on the ORR should be considered provisional because the entire ORR has not been surveyed, and state and federal status of all species continues to be updated.The purpose of this document is to present information on the listed T&E plant species currently known to occur on the ORR as well as listed species potentially occurring on the ORR based on geographic range and habitat availability. For the purpose of this report, "T&E species" include all federal-and state-listed species, including candidates for listing, and species of special concern. For project planning purposes, this report is most useful in alerting planners and site managers that T&E species are known to exist in certain areas. Consideration of T&E plant habitats is an important component of resource management and land-use planning; protection of rare species in their natural habitat is the best method of ensuring their long-term survival.

Assessment of Nonnative Invasive Plants in the DOE Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park

“…The 167 nonnative, invasive species on the Research Park (hereafter Research Park) are classified as "aggressive," "questionably aggressive," "passive," and "questionably passive" based on their abundance, distribution, and a qualitative assessment of their tendency to exclude native plant species (Awl et al 1996). However, the relative importance of taxa within each classification has not been determined.…”

Oak Ridge Reservation Physical Characteristics and Natural Resources

“…This list, with additional detail, is also available at www.esd.ornl.gov/facilities/nerp. Twenty-one plants listed by the state as rare (endangered, threatened, or special concern) are found on the ORR (Awl et al 1996;DOE 2005). The population of tall larkspur on the ORR is one of the largest populations known to occur anywhere in the world.…”

Remedial investigation report on the Melton Valley Watershed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Volume 1: Evaluation, interpretation, and data summary

“…2.4). Threatened and endangered plants have been identified in the southern edge of SWSA 6, on the Melton Branch floodplain north of the NHF, and near the West Seep (Awl et al 1996) remedial actions taken outside maintained areas might adversely impact potential rare plant habitat, consultation with the ORNL Research Park ofice is recommended (Cunningham et al 1993). …”