3.__Endangered plants.__The commissioner has the following responsibilities related to endangered plants.

A.__The commissioner shall establish and maintain the official list of native endangered and threatened plants of the State.__The purpose of the list is informational and may be provided on an informational basis to public agencies, private institutions or individuals for environmental assessment, land management or educational purposes.

B.__The commissioner may establish procedures to substantiate the identification of endangered and threatened native plant species.__In determining and revising the list, the commissioner shall use the rare plant database of the Natural Areas Program, the advice of the Natural Areas Advisory Board and the knowledge of botanists in the State.__ In addition, the commissioner shall consult with federal agencies, interested state agencies, other states or provinces having a common interest and other interested persons and organizations.__The commissioner shall determine criteria for each category.__When establishing the list, the commissioner shall consider aspects of plant biology that contribute to a species' rarity such as:

(1)__Endemism.__The plant species or subspecies may be geographically restricted to the State or areas immediately adjacent to the State;

(2)__Scarcity.__A plant species or subspecies may be numerically scarce throughout its distribution in North America and occur in only a few locations in the State;

(3)__Special habitat.__A plant species or subspecies may require habitat that is scarce in the State;

(4)__Limit of range.__A plant species or subspecies in the State may be at the edge of its distribution or disjunct from its main distribution; and

(5)__Population decline or vulnerability.__A plant species or subspecies may be threatened or seriously declining due to habitat modification or destruction or from overcollection for commercial, recreational or educational purposes.