Endangered and Threatened Species Alert: Small Whorled Pogonia Small Whorled Pogonia If you are planning to develop property in Northern Virginia having mature hardwood forest with an open understory, you will most likely need a survey for the small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides) between June 1 and July 20—or your wetlands permitting may be delayed up to a year! The small whorled pogonia, a tiny orchid (see photo – note 35mm film canister for scale), is federally listed as threatened and state listed as endangered. As a result, it is protected by both federal and state endangered species laws, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) must consider potential impacts to this species before issuing permits to impact wetlands and other jurisdictional waters. Virginia counties with recorded colonies of the small whorled pogonia include: Prince William, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Madison, Caroline, Gloucester, James City, Lee and Wise. The highest number of colonies have been found in Stafford and eastern Prince William Counties. While, to the best of WSSI's knowledge, this species has not been recorded in Fairfax or Loudoun Counties, the recent discovery of this species in Madison, Lee, and Wise counties indicates that it is not restricted to the Virginia Coastal Plain and eastern Piedmont. According to Kim Marbain of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the FWS generally recommends that surveys be conducted on any site within a county of known small whorled pogonia occurrence if suitable habitat is present. In addition, at the request of the FWS, the COE has in the past two years required small whorled pogonia surveys on several sites in Fairfax County before issuing Section 404 permits. Preliminary (and relatively inexpensive) site evaluations to determine whether potentially suitable habitat is present may be conducted any time of the year; and for some sites, a habitat evaluation may be all that is necessary to confirm absence of the species. However, because above-ground structures (e.g., stems, leaves, and flowers) of the small whorled pogonia are most apparent in late spring and summer, surveys for this species in suitable habitat areas should be conducted between June 1 and July 20 (in Virginia localities from Caroline County north) according to FWS guidelines. Due to this limited survey "window", proper planning by project proponents on sites having suitable habitat is critical. Failure to have a pogonia survey conducted during the appropriate season could potentially result in wetlands permitting delays of up to a year! Therefore, project proponents of Virginia sites within the species range that will require wetlands permitting should also consider having a small whorled pogonia habitat evaluation (or survey) conducted as early in the development process as possible, preferably in the June 1-July 20 time frame, to ensure development schedule compliance. Plant Habitat and Characteristics In Virginia, small whorled pogonias generally occur in fairly standard-looking upland hardwood forests, usually dominated by oaks, although it does show several habitat affinities that allow for a more refined evaluation of habitat quality on a given site. Most occupied sites occur on land that was cleared for agriculture and farmed in the past, then allowed to return to a forested state, with canopy trees approximately 40-80 years old. Other characteristics common to most inhabited sites include relatively open understory vegetation with sparse herbaceous ground cover, and nearly level to gently sloping topography with northern or eastern exposure. The presence of standing dead trunks, decaying woody debris, sandy loam soils with low nutrient content, and scattered gaps in the tree canopy are also typical of occupied small whorled pogonia habitat. The plant may grow up to 10 inches tall, but most individuals are much smaller. They have five or six pale green leaves in a whorl at the top of a smooth pale green stem. The small green flower (usually one, occasionally two) sits atop the center of this whorl of leaves, although in any given year, many (or most) individuals in a colony do not produce any flowers. Conducting an ETS Survey Several other species, including the much more abundant and widespread common whorled pogonia (Isotria verticillata) and indian cucumber root (Medeoloa virginiana), can appear very similar to the small whorled pogonia. Therefore, experience is needed to distinguish individuals of these species. As a result, FWS maintains a list of consultants and botanists with sufficient experience conducting small whorled pogonia surveys to reliably survey a site for this species. WSSI has conducted a number of habitat evaluations and surveys for the small whorled pogonia, and four of WSSI's scientists are included on the FWS's list of small whorled pogonia survey contacts. For further information about this topic, or to have WSSI conduct a small whorled pogonia habitat evaluation or survey on your site, feel free to contact one of our scientists: Steve Rottenborn, Ph.D. (srottenborn@wetlandstudies.com) Craig Tumer, P.W.S. (ctumer@wetlandstudies.com) Laura Giese, Ph.D., P.W.S., C.F. (lgiese@wetlandstudies.com) Carrie Williams, W.P.I.T. (cwilliams@wetlandstudies.com) Or you may reach any of our staff at (703) 631-5800.