The white fringeless orchid was listed as a threatened species in 2016

The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4 awarded a $216,587.59 Cooperative Agreement to the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation on January 1, 2024 under the Candidate Species Conservation program (CFDA 15.660). The purpose of this award is to restore and preserve populations of the white fringeless orchid, a threatened species, on Tennessee state natural areas and parks. The project will also benefit more than 100 additional species of conservation concern in the region by restoring pine-oak woodland habitats. Key activities include coordinating landscape-scale conservation efforts, implementing restoration actions, and expanding the spatial scale of prior restoration work to improve population resiliency for the white fringeless orchid and other at-risk species. This work will positively impact downstream aquatic habitats that support federally listed species such as the bluemask darter, barrens topminnow, and Cumberland pigtoe.

Since that time recovery actions taken by state, federal, and NGO partners working with the service have made great strides towards recovering the species. Tennessee division of natural areas is a leading partner in recovery efforts for the species in tennessee, coordinating and implementing landscape scale recovery on state natural area and state park lands, including savage gulf state natural area. This project would build on prior investments by the service and tennessee in strategic conservation to restore white fringeless orchid that have shifted population resiliency in this site from a low to high condition over the last decade. Expanding the spatial scale of this restoration effort will improve resiliency of additional white fringeless orchid populations and benefit more than 100 species of greatest conservation need that occur within the project boundary or in downstream aquatic habitats. Restoring the pine-OAK woodlands atop the cumberland plateau will benefit pollinators, increase populations of the host plant for the at-risk frosted elfin butterfly, and support maintenance of baseflows in downstream aquatic habitats on the eastern highland rim that support federally listed species including bluemask darter, barrens topminnow, and cumberland pigtoe.