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The endangered Sneed’s pincushion cactus and other rare plants also grow in the area.

This 4,000-acre patch of protected land northeast of the airport was set aside in 1999 for the endangered dwarf bear claw poppy, the threatened Siler pincushion cactus, important riparian habitats, historical sites and due to its highly erodible soils, the Spectrum newspaper reported.

The freelance botanist, as Wellard calls himself, knows that having these delicate and desiccated roots intact will be the key to this threatened Siler pincushion cactus’s survival in its new home, just a few miles down the road at the White Dome Nature Preserve south of St. George.

Fewer than ten thousand individuals remain worldwide of the Siler pincushion cactus, according to a 2006 survey that Wellard fears is now an overestimate.

And the resulting seeds will then rise as the next generation of Siler pincushion cactus, observable from the public trails through the White Dome Nature Preserve.