Western Blue Flag
Status
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Western blue flag has long been recognized as a rare plant in Alberta. The Alberta Wildlife Act covers plants, however no status designations for plants have yet been assigned under this Act. The
Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre
(ANM) was established in 1994 and the first tracking list for vascular plants ranked western blue flag, as S2. This designation was based on the current botanical knowledge for this
species in the province. Collation of specimen information and subsequent mapping of occurrence suggested the more appropriate rank of SI (fewer occurrences and few remaining individuals). As of December 1998, the status of western blue flag remains SI given the number of occurrences (six native and one
extirpated) apparent decline in number of plants flowering density.