Action timeline

1998 – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made the golden sedge a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

1999 – The Service proposed to list the golden sedge as endangered.

2001 – The Center, the California Native Plant Society, and the Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project negotiated an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expedite the protection of 29 species — including the golden sedge — under the Endangered Species Act.

2002 – The Service declared the golden sedge to be officially endangered, but no critical habitat was designated for the plant.