Rare Colorado Cactus Makes Remarkable Recovery After Decades

Colorado may not be the first place you think of when it comes to cactus, but we do have species that can't be found anywhere else.

Fortunately, one species is being removed from the endangered species list.

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Cacti of Colorado

We don't have the giant saguaro cactus that many picture when thinking of cacti in the U.S. What we do have, however, can be found in most arid areas of the country.

Traveling throughout Colorado’s desert areas, you’ll most likely see prickly pear cacti, those small, flat cacti that grow almost like weeds. The small fruit is delicious, but be careful picking it, you might get pricked.

There is one cactus that only grows between Grand Junction and Montrose, Colorado. That's the one that was just pulled from the endangered species list.

The Colorado Hookless Cactus

The Colorado Hookless Cactus is only found in the Colorado and Gunnison River basins and their tributary canyons in western Colorado. It's a relatively small cactus that has pink flowers which bloom in late April and early May.

Since the Colorado hookless cactus can only be found on the Western Slope and in certain river basin areas, it's an extremely rare cactus. Habitat loss, grazing cattle, and human encroachment led to the cactus being placed on the endangered species list in 1979.

Read More: Grand Junction Home to World's Second Largest Cluster of Arches

Luckily, after years of collaboration between the Bureau of Land Management, the Colorado National Heritage Program, and the Denver Botanic Gardens, the Colorado hookless cactus has made a recovery and can be pulled from the list.