Ranunculus aestivalis, the autumn buttercup, is known from one site in south central Utah, which is now owned by the Nature Conservancy. The population of buttercups on the site has been declining from several hundred to around 20 plants. Protocols for propagating R. aestivalis through tissue culture were developed at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden's Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW), in a project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Because the population in the wild was declining, a collaborative project was developed to use these methods to provide plants for augmentation of the population. The collaborative augmentation project is being funded by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Seeds of R. aestivalis were sent to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden by The Arboretum at Flagstaff. These seeds were germinated in vitro and each seedling was propagated using tissue culture to produce multiple plants. These plants were sent, in vitro, to The Arboretum at Flagstaff, where they were removed from the test tubes and acclimatized to soil conditions. Plants were then transported to the reintroduction site: The Nature Conservancy's Preserve, near Panguitch, UT. Staff and volunteers from the Nature Conservancy and faculty and students from Utah Valley State College planted the plants in June, 2007.

The plants were planted in two groups on the preserve. Half of the propagated plants were planted to augment the site of the remaining wild plants. The other half of the plants were planted in an area of the preserve that is slightly wetter. The plants were watered weekly for the first month after planting. There was 92% survival of the propagated plants during the first summer (2007).

Genetic studies by Van Buren et al. (1994) showed that the taxon known as Ranuculus acriformis var. aestivalis should in fact be elevated to its own species, named Ranunculus aestivalis.

Current demographic studies by Spence (1996) indicate that the species is subject to wide population swings

In October 2006, the Arboretum at Flagstaff began receiving plants of Autumn Buttercup from the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden CREW tissue culture lab. Over 500 plantlets were acclimated at The Arboretum for future experimental plantings.

In 2007, The Arboretum at Flagstaff partnered with The Nature Conservancy in Utah, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden CREW, and Utah Valley State College in an experimental planting of Autumn Buttercup at the TNC Preserve, near Panguitch. In 2006, there were 18 individual Buttercup observed at the Preserve. The Arboretum sent 138 greenhouse plants to Renee West of Utah Valley State College to be planted in the experiment. Two experimental sites were chosen, a drier site near the historical population, and a wetter site a bit further away. The plants at the drier site exhibited higher survivorship (97%) vs the wetter site (88%) at the end of 2007. Survival in 2008 was 67% at the dry site and 6% at the wet site.

In 2007, The Arboretum at Flagstaff partnered with The Nature Conservancy in Utah, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden CREW, and Utah Valley State College in an experimental planting of Autumn Buttercup at the TNC Preserve, near Panguitch. In 2006, there were 18 individual Buttercup observed at the Preserve. The Arboretum sent 138 greenhouse plants to Renee West of Utah Valley State College to be planted in the experiment. Two experimental sites were chosen, a drier site near the historical population, and a wetter site a bit further away. The plants at the drier site exhibited higher survivorship (97%) vs the wetter site (88%) at the end of 2007. Survival in 2008 was 67% at the dry site and 6% at the wet site.

In 2007, The Arboretum at Flagstaff partnered with The Nature Conservancy in Utah, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden CREW, and Utah Valley State College in an experimental planting of Autumn Buttercup at the TNC Preserve, near Panguitch. In 2006, there were 18 individual Buttercup observed at the Preserve. The Arboretum sent 138 greenhouse plants to Renee West of Utah Valley State College to be planted in the experiment. Two experimental sites were chosen, a drier site near the historical population, and a wetter site a bit further away. The plants at the drier site exhibited higher survivorship (97%) vs the wetter site (88%) at the end of 2007. Survival in 2008 was 67% at the dry site and 6% at the wet site.

In 2007, The Arboretum at Flagstaff partnered with The Nature Conservancy in Utah, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden CREW, and Utah Valley State College in an experimental planting of Autumn Buttercup at the TNC Preserve, near Panguitch. In 2006, there were 18 individual Buttercup observed at the Preserve. The Arboretum sent 138 greenhouse plants to Renee West of Utah Valley State College to be planted in the experiment. Two experimental sites were chosen, a drier site near the historical population, and a wetter site a bit further away. The plants at the drier site exhibited higher survivorship (97%) vs the wetter site (88%) at the end of 2007. Survival in 2008 was 67% at the dry site and 6% at the wet site.

In 2007, The Arboretum at Flagstaff partnered with The Nature Conservancy in Utah, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden CREW, and Utah Valley State College in an experimental planting of Autumn Buttercup at the TNC Preserve, near Panguitch. In 2006, there were 18 individual Buttercup observed at the Preserve. The Arboretum sent 138 greenhouse plants to Renee West of Utah Valley State College to be planted in the experiment. Two experimental sites were chosen, a drier site near the historical population, and a wetter site a bit further away. The plants at the drier site exhibited higher survivorship (97%) vs the wetter site (88%) at the end of 2007. Survival in 2008 was 67% at the dry site and 6% at the wet site.

On June 5, 2010, The Arboretum at Flagstaff brought 45 plants to the Preserve and planted them near the drier experimental site of 2007. There were no survivors from the 2007 experiment, deer or other ungulates were suspected as the culprits. We placed deer-proof fences around the experiment. Six weeks later, we could not locate any survivors. The plants were eaten by small mammals able to get through the deer fence. It turns out that voles are the primary threat to the buttercup in the Preserve. They don’t hibernate, and the thick ungrazed wiregrass at the Preserve gives them cover during the winter.

In a joint effort between Weber State University (WSU) Department of Zoology, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) , the Arboretum at Flagstaff (TAF) and the USFWS another reintroduction effort was undertaken in June 2013. The June 2013 reintroduction differed from previous efforts in that half of the Preserve had grazing restored. The primary objectives of this project were to determine whether small mammals are preferentially grazing on the buttercup, or if grazing is making a more suitable habitat for the buttercup by decreasing plant competition, and/or if grazing is making a more suitable habitat for buttercup by decreasing small mammal habitat. After two years, of the 336 plants in the experiment, only 30 had survived (primarily in the grazed and caged treatment). Grazing by large mammals is an effective management strategy to reduce the number of voles present on the Preserve and should be continued. Herbivory from voles is a major risk for the autumn buttercup and future reintroduction attempts should include caging strategies to minimize exposure of the plants to vole herbivory. (Skopec, M. et al. Managed grazing is an effective strategy to restore habitat for the endangered autumn buttercup (Ranunculus aestivalis). Restoration Ecology, IN PREPARATION FOR PUBLICATION)

In a joint effort between Weber State University (WSU) Department of Zoology, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) , the Arboretum at Flagstaff (TAF) and the USFWS another reintroduction effort was undertaken in June 2013. The June 2013 reintroduction differed from previous efforts in that half of the Preserve had grazing restored. The primary objectives of this project were to determine whether small mammals are preferentially grazing on the buttercup, or if grazing is making a more suitable habitat for the buttercup by decreasing plant competition, and/or if grazing is making a more suitable habitat for buttercup by decreasing small mammal habitat. After two years, of the 336 plants in the experiment, only 30 had survived (primarily in the grazed and caged treatment). Grazing by large mammals is an effective management strategy to reduce the number of voles present on the Preserve and should be continued. Herbivory from voles is a major risk for the autumn buttercup and future reintroduction attempts should include caging strategies to minimize exposure of the plants to vole herbivory. (Skopec, M. et al. Managed grazing is an effective strategy to restore habitat for the endangered autumn buttercup (Ranunculus aestivalis). Restoration Ecology, IN PREPARATION FOR PUBLICATION)

In a joint effort between Weber State University (WSU) Department of Zoology, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) , the Arboretum at Flagstaff (TAF) and the USFWS another reintroduction effort was undertaken in June 2013. The June 2013 reintroduction differed from previous efforts in that half of the Preserve had grazing restored. The primary objectives of this project were to determine whether small mammals are preferentially grazing on the buttercup, or if grazing is making a more suitable habitat for the buttercup by decreasing plant competition, and/or if grazing is making a more suitable habitat for buttercup by decreasing small mammal habitat. After two years, of the 336 plants in the experiment, only 30 had survived (primarily in the grazed and caged treatment). Grazing by large mammals is an effective management strategy to reduce the number of voles present on the Preserve and should be continued. Herbivory from voles is a major risk for the autumn buttercup and future reintroduction attempts should include caging strategies to minimize exposure of the plants to vole herbivory. (Skopec, M. et al. Managed grazing is an effective strategy to restore habitat for the endangered autumn buttercup (Ranunculus aestivalis). Restoration Ecology, IN PREPARATION FOR PUBLICATION)

In a joint effort between Weber State University (WSU) Department of Zoology, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) , the Arboretum at Flagstaff (TAF) and the USFWS another reintroduction effort was undertaken in June 2013. The June 2013 reintroduction differed from previous efforts in that half of the Preserve had grazing restored. The primary objectives of this project were to determine whether small mammals are preferentially grazing on the buttercup, or if grazing is making a more suitable habitat for the buttercup by decreasing plant competition, and/or if grazing is making a more suitable habitat for buttercup by decreasing small mammal habitat. After two years, of the 336 plants in the experiment, only 30 had survived (primarily in the grazed and caged treatment). Grazing by large mammals is an effective management strategy to reduce the number of voles present on the Preserve and should be continued. Herbivory from voles is a major risk for the autumn buttercup and future reintroduction attempts should include caging strategies to minimize exposure of the plants to vole herbivory. (Skopec, M. et al. Managed grazing is an effective strategy to restore habitat for the endangered autumn buttercup (Ranunculus aestivalis). Restoration Ecology, IN PREPARATION FOR PUBLICATION)

In 2017, the State of Utah Endangered Species Mitigation Fund, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) , the Arboretum at Flagstaff (TAF) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service initiated the largest reintroduction of Autumn Buttercup to date. June 2017, we planted 900 individual buttercup into 10 separate sites on the TNC Preserve, where the entire Preserve had implemented limited cattle grazing to decrease the vegetative cover for small mammals. Sites were chosen based on best survivorship of past experiments, and all individuals were caged. The summer of 2017 proved to be severely dry, so we supplied water to all the individuals for a period of 3 months. As of September 2017, 721 individuals are alive.

In 2017, the State of Utah Endangered Species Mitigation Fund, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) , the Arboretum at Flagstaff (TAF) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service initiated the largest reintroduction of Autumn Buttercup to date. June 2017, we planted 900 individual buttercup into 10 separate sites on the TNC Preserve, where the entire Preserve had implemented limited cattle grazing to decrease the vegetative cover for small mammals. Sites were chosen based on best survivorship of past experiments, and all individuals were caged. The summer of 2017 proved to be severely dry, so we supplied water to all the individuals for a period of 3 months. As of September 2017, 721 individuals are alive.

In 2017, the State of Utah Endangered Species Mitigation Fund, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) , the Arboretum at Flagstaff (TAF) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service initiated the largest reintroduction of Autumn Buttercup to date. June 2017, we planted 900 individual buttercup into 10 separate sites on the TNC Preserve, where the entire Preserve had implemented limited cattle grazing to decrease the vegetative cover for small mammals. Sites were chosen based on best survivorship of past experiments, and all individuals were caged. The summer of 2017 proved to be severely dry, so we supplied water to all the individuals for a period of 3 months. As of September 2017, 721 individuals are alive.

In 2017, the State of Utah Endangered Species Mitigation Fund, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) , the Arboretum at Flagstaff (TAF) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service initiated the largest reintroduction of Autumn Buttercup to date. June 2017, we planted 900 individual buttercup into 10 separate sites on the TNC Preserve, where the entire Preserve had implemented limited cattle grazing to decrease the vegetative cover for small mammals. Sites were chosen based on best survivorship of past experiments, and all individuals were caged. The summer of 2017 proved to be severely dry, so we supplied water to all the individuals for a period of 3 months. As of September 2017, 721 individuals are alive.

Attempts to propagate this species using tissue culture at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden have proved to be successful, and many plants have been sent to Arboretum of Flagstaff for continuing reintroduction projects.

In vitro propagation protocols for this species have been developed at CREW (Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden), (Pence et al., 2008) and these have been used to provide several hundred plants for outplantings in 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2017.

Tissue culture lines and some acclimatized plants are maintained at CREW.

Tissue culture lines and some acclimatized plants are maintained at CREW.

The Arboretum at Flagstaff has collected seed of Ranunculus aestivalis from 21 maternal lines from a population of 2000 individuals located at: UT, Garfield County, Sevier River, new BLM parcel, north of Panguitch (Accession #2019-0052). The total number of seed collected for long-term storage is 717.

The Arboretum at Flagstaff has collected seed of Ranunculus aestivalis from 21 maternal lines from a population of 2000 individuals located at: UT, Garfield County, Sevier River, new BLM parcel, north of Panguitch (Accession #2019-0052). The total number of seed collected for long-term storage is 717.

Tissue culture lines and some acclimatized plants are maintained at CREW.

In vitro propagation protocols for this species have been developed at CREW (Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden), (Pence et al., 2008) and these have been used to provide several hundred plants for outplantings in 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2017.

From data from J.R. Spence 1996, estimated the maximum age of buttercup is 5 years, and there is low winter survival, perhaps due to herbivory.
 

In 2017, the State of Utah Endangered Species Mitigation Fund, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) , the Arboretum at Flagstaff (TAF) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service initiated the largest reintroduction of Autumn Buttercup to date. June 2017, we planted 900 individual buttercup into 10 separate sites on the TNC Preserve, where the entire Preserve had implemented limited cattle grazing to decrease the vegetative cover for small mammals. Sites were chosen based on best survivorship of past experiments, and all individuals were caged. The summer of 2017 proved to be severely dry, so we supplied water to all the individuals for a period of 3 months. As of September 2017, 721 individuals are alive.
 

In a joint effort between Weber State University (WSU) Department of Zoology, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) , the Arboretum at Flagstaff (TAF) and the USFWS another reintroduction effort was undertaken in June 2013. The June 2013 reintroduction differed from previous efforts in that half of the Preserve had grazing restored. The primary objectives of this project were to determine whether small mammals are preferentially grazing on the buttercup, or if grazing is making a more suitable habitat for the buttercup by decreasing plant competition, and/or if grazing is making a more suitable habitat for buttercup by decreasing small mammal habitat. After two years, of the 336 plants in the experiment, only 30 had survived (primarily in the grazed and caged treatment). Grazing by large mammals is an effective management strategy to reduce the number of voles present on the Preserve and should be continued. Herbivory from voles is a major risk for the autumn buttercup and future reintroduction attempts should include caging strategies to minimize exposure of the plants to vole herbivory. (Skopec, M. et al. Managed grazing is an effective strategy to restore habitat for the endangered autumn buttercup (Ranunculus aestivalis). Restoration Ecology, IN PREPARATION FOR PUBLICATION)

On June 5, 2010, The Arboretum at Flagstaff brought 45 plants to the Preserve and planted them near the drier experimental site of 2007. There were no survivors from the 2007 experiment, deer or other ungulates were suspected as the culprits. We placed deer-proof fences around the experiment. Six weeks later, we could not locate any survivors. The plants were eaten by small mammals able to get through the deer fence. It turns out that voles are the primary threat to the buttercup in the Preserve. They don’t hibernate, and the thick ungrazed wiregrass at the Preserve gives them cover during the winter.

In 2007, The Arboretum at Flagstaff partnered with The Nature Conservancy in Utah, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden CREW, and Utah Valley State College in an experimental planting of Autumn Buttercup at the TNC Preserve, near Panguitch. In 2006, there were 18 individual Buttercup observed at the Preserve. The Arboretum sent 138 greenhouse plants to Renee West of Utah Valley State College to be planted in the experiment. Two experimental sites were chosen, a drier site near the historical population, and a wetter site a bit further away.  The plants at the drier site exhibited higher survivorship (97%) vs the wetter site (88%) at the end of 2007. Survival in 2008 was 67% at the dry site and 6% at the wet site. 
 

In October 2006, the Arboretum at Flagstaff began receiving plants of Autumn Buttercup from the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden CREW tissue culture lab. Over 500 plantlets were acclimated at The Arboretum for future experimental plantings.
 

Endemic to Garfield County, Utah and one of the state's rarest and most restricted plants. It was presumed extinct until its rediscovery in 1982, when a population of about 450 plants was found. Since then, that population has declined sharply in numbers and vigor and a second population has been discovered. However, the total number of individuals is still only about 500. There is a very limited amount of suitable habitat in the area, and habitat degredation due to livestock grazing is occurring on much of it.

Threats include: agriculture grazing, limitations from its small population, and restricted habitat desiccation. Diversion of springs that sub-irrigate the monitored stand and nearby prospective reintroduction sites also threaten this plant taxon.

This taxon is only known from two populations with greatly fluctuating numbers in Garfield County, Utah (Spence 1996).

Current demographic studies by Spence (1996) indicate that the species is subject to wide population swings. Genetic studies by Van Buren et al. (1994) showed that the taxon known as Ranuculus acriformis var. aestivalis should in fact be elevated to its own species, named Ranunculus aestivalis.

It is uncertain whether the current management regime on The Nature Conservancy's land is helping or hurting the species, because grazing is problematic, but so is competition. Monitoring of this species was begun in the Sevier Valley Preserve in 1991, the results of which revealed a dramatic decline in population numbers and reproductive output (Spence 1996).

We continue to investigate what conditions are necessary to maintain healthy populations.

Attempts to propagate this species using tissue culture at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden have proved to be successful, and many plants have been sent to Arboretum of Flagstaff for continuing reintroduction projects.