In 2016 and 2017, Matthew Albrecht and Quinn Long collected seeds from 36 populations throughout the Red River Gorge, resulting in the acquisition of an estimated 239,780 seeds having been collected from approximately 930 individuals.

In 2017, Matthew Albrecht and Quinn Long initiated a series of experiments to determine the type of dormancy in S. albopilosa, as well as seed banking characteristics and seed viability. 

In 2017, Matthew Albrecht and Quinn Long initiated an experiment using incubation chambers to simulate the germination response of S. albopilosa to projected future temperatures in the year 2080 and compare trends in cumulative germination as well as the timing of germination events to temperatures that are consistent with current climate averages. 

In 2016 and 2017, Matthew Albrecht and Quinn Long collected seeds from 36 populations throughout the Red River Gorge, resulting in the acquisition of an estimated 239,780 seeds having been collected from approximately 930 individuals. 

Endemic to a single river gorge in Kentucky and restricted within this narrow range to sheltered, cave-like ""rockhouse"" habitats which tend to receive intensive recreational use. Many populations have been severely damaged or extirpated by trampling. Major threats are trampling and digging by archaeologial looters.

Simple, low fencing has been used to delineate the areas where S. albopilosa is growing in areas that receive higher traffic, and the fencing is generally respected by the public. Some trails have been rerouted to move them away from areas with S. albopilosa, and signage has been used to alert those using the forest of the need to conserve the S. albopilosa habitat (D. Taylor, pers. comm.). Forest Service policies on logging are used to protect S. albopilosa from the direct effects of logging and to protect sensitive cliff-line plants (USFWS, 1993).

Continued monitoring of the plant and protection from recreational activities.

Seed from different occurrences should be banked ex situ Plants of representative genotypes should be grown ex situ

Hiking Rock climbing/rappelling Camping Illegal digging for archeological artifacts Invasive species (Microstegium vimineum and Miscanthus sinensis) Logging

82 sites in 32 occurrences in three counties of Kentucky (White and Drozda, 2006).

Early work on S. albopilosa determined that it was a tetraploid (n=36) (Beaudry, 1959), in contrast to S. flexicaulis (n=18), a wider-ranging woodland species that occurs in the same forests as S. albopilosa. More recent work has shown that forms of S. flexicaulis in the western part of its range, including Kentucky, are also tetraploid (Semple et al., 1984; 1993). Genetic work has investigated the possibility that S. albopilosa arose as a hybrid between S. flexicaulis and S. caesia, a species known to hybridize with S. flexicaulis. Results indicate that it is unlikely that S. albopilosa is of hybrid origin from these species and that it is not closely related to either species. However, it is most similar to S. flexicaulis, and may have arisen from it as an ancient autopolyploid (Esselman and Crawford, 1997). A study of the effects of ozone on S. albopilosa indicated little effect at the concentrations tested (Mavity and Berrang, 1994). An assessment was made of the impact of recreation on S. albopilosa and found that 85% of the sites assessed were impacted and in one-third of these, the impact was severe (White and Drozda, 2006)